Remnant of Pain
by The Unchained Melody
Summary: The body of Pain's Animal Path wakes up to find herself in the wreckage of Konoha, with no memory, and as a prisoner. Amidst this darkness, she is given hope and shown kindness by the boy called Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto x Female Pain or Naruto x the Animal Path host to be specific. Contains violence, sensuality, and some fluff.
1. The Sixth Path

**Chapter 1- The Sixth Path **

The green garbed ninja ran to and fro through the smoking crater they had once called their home. Konoha hadn't fared well against the invasion of the Akatsuki's leader Pain. What remained was a flat dirt bed with all of the rubble pushed to the outer ring of the city. The outskirts of the village still contained a few houses- damaged non-to-liberally, but intact all the less.

The center of Konoha was being monitored by Konoha's black op forces. The ANBU were cataloging and bagging the enemy's corpses left behind from his match with the village's hero Naruto Uzumaki. Only one body still was unaccounted for, but she was here.

The short orange-haired kunoichi was lying face down into the dirt. Her eyes were both shut. If it wasn't for the dry blood inked down the corner of her mouth, one would think she were in a peaceful state of sleep.

The red-head's eyes widened instantaneously. She let out a gasp. She quickly shut her eyes again as particles of dirt were blown into her face. The girl pulled up her knees so as to sit with her arms planted squarely in front of her. Her eyes were deathly wide now. She looked back and forth hurriedly. Heavy breaths began to escape her lungs. She put a hand to her black cloak. Her hand made contact for her skin for a second before she threw it off. Her chest was bare. There was a large tear in her clothes.

She placed her hand in front of her mouth defensively. Her eyes continued to glance around. An unmistakable expression of fear was on her face.

_Where am I?_

A black figure teleported in front of her. The girl was startled and fell backwards. She looked up to see it was a shinobi wearing a black-hooded cloak and an animal mask. The man dwarfed her in comparison.

"This one's alive." he said.

Two more figures appeared beside him.

"Should we dispense of it? It could be dangerous, perhaps wired."

She screamed and began to crawl backwards.

"No!" she shouted, "Please! No…"

The center ANBU tilted his head to the left. He pulled out his katana and held it in front of him. He watched as the red head's eyes followed it. He saw them opening even wider than before. She attempted to stand up, but clumsily. She quickly fell back off of her feet. The girl was trembling now.

"How odd" he thought, "Not only is one of the bodies is still operating, it's showing fear. That doesn't add up to Pain's earlier behavior. Wait a minute…"

He focused his gaze onto the stiffening features of her face. Her eyes… they were a sky blue. The Rinnegan had disappeared.

"Take her. Kakashi-sempai will want to know about this."

The other two nodded and than walked up to either side of her.

"No! No!"

They ignored her frantic protests. One of them reached into the pack tied to his pants and pulled out a strip of white cloth. He opened a small bottle and applied a drop to the rag. A small pink cloud erupted from it. The other ANBU walked behind her and scooped her up by her arms. His partner veered closer to her now. He placed the rag on her mouth and nose. Having worn herself out, she fought weakly for oxygen. She felt a warm vapor permeate her lungs. Her entire body began to shut down. She saw the ninja facing her disappear behind a black veil as her sight faltered. There was nothing she could do now. Everything was all fading. Her eyes shut and her body went limp in the ANBU's arms.

When she woke up, she would well recall the last words that had went through her mind at the time.

_Help me._

* * *

**Author's Notes:** This story is something I wrote a couple of years ago, around the time of the Pain Invasion arc.

My story's first two chapters are inspired by NeonZangetsu's fiction _Pain of Love_. As I've already completed the chapters for this, expect regular updates!


	2. Naruto Uzumaki

**Chapter 2- Naruto Uzumaki **

When she came to, the young woman found herself unable to move. Her back felt ice cold. She could tell she was tied to something hard. Her eyes struggled to open. Whatever sedative they had used on her hadn't completely worn off. She fought off the effects, but was overwhelmed by her mind's wanderings.

_What is this place? What do they want with me?_

She found herself falling back into sleep.

A few minutes later she reawakened. She realized now she was tied to a freezing bed of metal. Her arms and legs were firmly bound by leather straps. She could faintly see, through her weakened gaze, the other shinobi in the room. Each one wore a black long coat and matching bandana. The man squarely in front of her was the tallest. His hands were crossed behind him and he held a firm gaze. To complete the picture of intimidation, his face was a scratching post of scars.

The girl gulped. She could feel the presence of everyone in the room. Every eye was fixed on her. Each looked like they wanted to rend her limb from limb.

"Why do they hate me?" she wondered. It was then that her eyes wandered to her arm forcibly stretched out to the side. There was something planted in her arm. It looked like a black bolt.

"W-What is this? Why is something like this in me? D-did I put it there?"

Her eyes widened in shock. Her mind had drawn a blank. The piercing neither looked nor felt as if it had been put in recently, yet she didn't have any idea where this piercing had come from. When she tried to remember, her mind could only recall a strange black fog. Why was that? Why was all of this happening to her? The girl desperately tried to remember. She tried to recall how she had awoken in the flat. She could only think of that same fog. It was as if the memory was there, but unwilling to show itself. She tried to find some mental ground. There had to be something she remembered, her earliest memory even. Maybe even just her name…

"A-ah!" she let out. The men in the room all reacted with the same sense of surprise. Her eyes turned melancholic. All her attempts had proven useless… all of her memories were missing. She was alone. She as alone and without a name in a place she didn't know.

"So,"

She heard the deep masculine tone fill the room. She looked up at him in surprise.

"-You're awake are you?"

She couldn't find any words to reply with. Her eyes strained to keep eye contact with the figure towering over her. Another lump passed down her throat.

_What is he going to do to me?_

* * *

"I wish I could treat you to a bowl of ramen Naruto. It's the least I could do after everything that's happened."

The blonde-haired teenager gazed at Iruka for a moment. He contemplated his navels for a moment before opening his mouth to bear a wide grin.

Naruto said, "Ah well. They said they'd have it rebuilt by the end of next week. I'll just have to stick with my own cups at my pla—oh wait. That's gone too."

Iruka frowned and looked at Naruto with concern. Naruto didn't seem to notice. He was deep in thinking with a debating hand to his chin.

"I suppose I could search the rubble…"

Naruto shook his head. He smiled again and said, "I don't think now is the time to worry about that. The first thing I want to do is help rebuild the village."

"I'm sure the others could use your help."

Iruka shut his eyes while maintaining a lighthearted expression. He reminded himself just how much Naruto had grown since his days as the short prankster desperate for attention. Naruto now had the attention he desired. But the man in front of him wanted to help for the sake of helping. This boy… would make a fine Hokage someday.

"Naruto! Iruka-sensei!" they heard a voice call from behind them. They turned to see Kiba riding atop his white dog Akamaru. The canine bounded up to the baffled duo. He then reactively hit his breaks and his paws began to gently slide before stopping dangerously close to knocking them over.

"Kiba?" asked Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei! Sorry, you'll have to talk to Naruto later. Kakashi wants him immediately. He says not to wait. You'll want to see what they've found."

"Eh?" asked Naruto, "Found something?'

"He said you'd ask that. Kakashi says the ANBU just found one of Pain's bodies."

"So? What's so strange about that?"

"Just let me finish damn it! The body… it's… it's still conscious!"

Naruto was visibly stunned for a moment. Pain… Nagato's bodies had been defeated. Nagato himself had passed away after using that last jutsu. Everything had come to a conclusion so why was a body still running around? Naruto didn't know. But he acknowledged that he still knew little about Nagato's connection to his six paths.

Naruto blinked and turned to Iruka. His gaze told Iruka that he was sorry he had to leave so abruptly. Iruka smiled understandingly.

"Lead the way Kiba!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I think Kiba makes a good messenger as Akamaru can find Naruto quickly. Still, in retrospect, he was pretty loud when sharing that secret info.


	3. The Fearful Child

**Chapter 3- The Fearful Child**

Pain was lying on the erect bed frame, her hands and legs spread eagle over its flat surface. She looked helplessly at her inquisitors. Her eyes blinked profusely in frustration. Her neck and face were turned to her right. It was difficult enough to keep her eyes open without the piercing light they were shining on her.

"You're alive. That much is obvious. But how?"

The man patiently awaited her answer.

He spoke again. "I'm asking how it is you're still moving." He recalled the data the ANBU had briefly gathered on her. So far the report was matching up: the missing Rinnegan and her uncharacteristically normal speech pattern. He remembered her. He remembered her well. It hadn't been too long ago since he'd faced her in battle. How could he forget her emotionless face as he tortured her with no results? How she had turned the tables and practically killed him? But now things were different. The girl in front of him lacked Pain's stoic body and mind. This time she was vulnerable and afraid.

He sighed. "Why do you refuse to cooperate? Would you rather spend the night in interrogation or could it be you're trying to hide your secrets? If I'm wrong then tell me. Why are you still active when the other bodies are immobile? Your real body is dead, so why aren't you?"

She softly spoke, "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

The interrogator furrowed his eyebrows. He walked up to her and looked her in the eyes. She looked up at him, his face only a few inches from hers. She felt his hot breath stick to the rim of her nose. She held her own breath. His hand had come under her chin. She opened her mouth giving away her curiosity.

"There's no use in playing games. If you resist, we'll simply torture it out of you."

The man picked up his left leg and swung it down. Pain heard it hit something mechanical to her side. It was the lever that operated the interrogation table. She suddenly felt her entire body dragged downwards. She was positioned now with her feet dangling into the air. She felt all the blood rushing to her head.

"No, please! I'll tell anything I can. But—I truthfully don't know what's going on. I don't know why I'm here or where I am. I don't know anything!"

Tears were trickling down her face and forming a small puddle below her. The table now flipped back up to its last standing. She was once again only a few inches from her captor.

He looked at her. This time he wasn't so stern. Truth be told, he didn't like any of this. She was a teenager, but she seemed so young. It felt like interrogating a lost child.

"What's your name?" he asked. The other ninja looked at him disapprovingly. He ignored them and waited for her reply.

"I can't remember."

"My name is Ibiki. I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here until Kakashi shows up."

_Kakashi?_ The name didn't mean anything even though she felt it should.

Ibiki looked to her and said, "Since you don't know, I might as well tell you now. I know this won't be easy but you'll have to bear with it."

He waited for the girl to answer. She hesitated to answer but a moment. Then she gave a small nod, weak but resolute.

Ibiki said, "You are… Pain."

_Pain  
_

_That name…  
_

_It doesn't mean anything to me.  
_

_Yes it does.  
_

_But!  
_

_Don't hide from the truth._

The word repeated itself in her head until it drowned out all other thoughts. It was just a word wasn't it? What did it mean to her? It carried a double meaning, though yet she wasn't sure what it was.

She suddenly felt the black fog of her mind dissipate. For an instant she saw something. She saw everything. She saw herself. She was a girl wearing a black cloak with red clouds patterned to it. She had orange hair with long bangs. Tied to it was a steel-plated head band with four marks in a row and a slash running through them. On her face were black piercings running down her cheeks. Another was planted on her nose. Her eyes were even stranger than this. They were a sickly purple with rings orbiting her pupils.

This was only one of the images in this scene. She also both saw through her own eyes and she saw through the men around her. Each was different in body, but with many of the same features. The eyes, the color of hair, the black rods, and cloaks were the same. Each one had the same symbol on their forehead protector.

One stood in the middle with a blue-haired woman by his side. The man looked directly at her and her brothers. He didn't utter a word but she heard it in her mind.

"Time to move."

The memory faded.

The door opened right on cue. In walked a man of decent height and muscle. He had long spiky hair of a light gray hue. The man wore a black mask, a green flak jacket, and a forehead protector that served to cover his left eye. An ANBU escort was also present.

"Hatake Kakashi," said Ibiki, "Perfect timing."

Ibiki stepped aside to give Kakashi a center view of Pain. Just then someone rushed into the room. The black ribbons of his headband trailed behind him. The girl looked over at him in interest. It was a boy about her age. He had short spiky yellow hair, blue eyes, and wore an orange jumpsuit with black trim. For some reason, she felt she recognized him from somewhere.

The boy's eyes lit up when he saw her.

"You—"

His eyebrows lowered gravely until he began to examine her. His gaze relaxed into something that looked more like… worry? She wondered why that was. Did he know her?

"What has it told you?" asked Kakashi.

Ibiki shook his head. "It seems to have suffered some sort of amnesia. It's telling the truth though. It hasn't any idea who it is."

Kakashi scowled. He immediately said, "Have you told it?"

"Yes, but just that. I didn't want to proceed anymore without your permission."

"Very good. Now," said Kakashi, "I would like to know _why_ it's here."

Ibiki nodded in agreement. He looked at the prisoner whose eyes were darting back and forth between the group as they spoke.

Ibiki said, "Please note its appearance. The rods are still inside, but we haven't sensed any chakra coming from them. The Rinnegan has vanished. Interestingly, its battle wounds have healed as well."

Kakashi said, "That adds up. With Pain dead, the Rinnegan and its hold over the body should be gone completely."

"According to Naruto, Pain used his resurrection technique to restore the bodies and their souls." he said, "Perhaps the technique worked on Pain's corpses as well. Maybe its effects weren't just on us Leaf. But why is this body the only one functioning?"

He then said, "Hmm. I suppose my other question is whether we're dealing with the original... or with him. It's-"

"Stop!" said Naruto.

Kakashi and Ibiki turned to look at him, taken back by his rudeness.

Naruto said, "Don't speak anymore. She doesn't understand."

They looked back at the girl. She was shaking now.

"Corpse? I—I was dead?"

The girl stared at Kakashi and then her eyes turned to the blonde teen. She felt safer when she saw him. He didn't look at her like the others and had stood up for her just now. Even more, he referred to her as a "she" rather than an "it".

The girl turned her attention back to Kakashi and the Special Jounin. Kakashi took on a friendlier gaze and shrugged.

Kakashi said, "I'll explain then. Please hear me out."

He said, "You woke up in the middle of a leftover battlefield right? That battlefield was our village until yesterday. That was when an enemy ninja named Pain invaded, searching for something we possessed. He went on to completely destroy our village, though things are all right now. Back then, he fought by controlling six bodies. Each one was a corpse under his control. You were… one of those six paths."

"You say you don't remember anything. We'll have to be sure. We need to know if the bodies were able to work independently. That is- if you're Pain or if you're just the girl he was using."

All eyes and ears turned to Pain, to learn what her reaction would be. But it was proving difficult to tell just what she was thinking as she sunk her head down. Her bangs obscured what tell her eyes would naturally give away.

At last she spoke up. "I—"

A pair of watery eyes looked at Kakashi Hatake.

"It can't be… I couldn't have killed all those people. I haven't done anything wrong. I'm no one—no one."

"I'm afraid that remains to be determined."

A certain fear was plaguing Kakashi's mind. There was a third possibility with this girl. One he didn't quite like. It was that the girl was Pain after all, but he was the one suffering amnesia. If that were the case, Nagato's identity could manifest itself anytime. But the Nagato that manifested wouldn't be one reformed by Naruto. It would be Pain.

Pain shook her head at his words. She seemed to be struggling inwardly in what was a difficult battle. The girl finally shut her eyes in defeat and the let her tears slide freely down her face.

"It's okay."

She opened her eyes in surprise. The boy had spoken this time.

"Naruto?" asked Kakashi._  
_

_Naruto. His name is Naruto._

"Just listen to what Kakashi is saying. You're not Pain. I'm sure it's hard to think that he used you like this. But all of the people in Konoha are alive—thanks to Nagato—Pain's final technique."

Kakashi said, "That's true. I owe my life to his technique."

"If that's the case, then I'm willing to bet my Hokage-hood that you were revived as well. And that means you're not Pain, you're the same person he found in his village. Don't you think so Kakashi?"

Kakashi nodded. "It seems the most logical answer. However, I can't just go and release her. She'll have to have all those chakra receivers removed. So we'll be operating on her. And then I'll have Inoichi check her mental condition. They'll decide if she's Pain or not. If you're not Pain then you'll be free to go."

"Isn't that great?" asked Naruto perkily. He walked forward to look at her face for a moment. He thought she was beautiful. She had pale milky skin and beautiful eyes. Once Naruto looked past that he realized she was still very much afraid. He impulsively reached a hand out to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Her eyes were fixed on him.

"Why is he being so nice to me?" she wondered. But even if she didn't know, she didn't mind.

Suddenly Naruto found himself feeling very self conscious. His actions a second ago embarrassed him. He reactively looked down from her face. His eyes settled on the black of her cloak or rather, where her cloak should have been. Naruto hadn't realized because the room was poorly lit. The single light source, their small spotlight, was aimed at her face after all. So he hadn't had any clue he would be seeing her bare breasts.

Naruto's face blushed and he looked back up trying to pretend he hadn't seen them while checking to see if she had noticed. Pain's cheeks were equally flushed. Kakashi felt a bead of sweat on the back of his head. He knew what an awkward scene Naruto had gotten himself into. The odd part was that it was happening with one of Pain's bodies of all things.

Naruto waved his hands frantically at her. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to see."

She blinked at him with a few leftover tears shaken loose in the process.

_This feeling. This is embarrassment._ She felt a sudden sense of relief as she identified this emotion.

Naruto finally calmed himself down from his apologetic dance. He shut his eyes making the girl wonder why. The truth was he was expecting either a verbal assault or a physical one. Sure her hands and legs were bound, but he was close enough for a headbutt.

He opened an eye to see her looking at him with her lips parted.

"You're not mad at me?" he asked.

Mad at him? This boy was her protector of sorts. Besides, she didn't know why she should be angry with him and if so, why hurting him (which was impossible given her inability to move) was the answer.

She said, "Uh-uh."

Naruto couldn't help exhaling in relief. He rubbed his hair before looking off to the side. Come to think of it, it was his Rasenrengan that had done a number on her clothes to begin with. He wondered if he ought to apologize. But that meant confessing it was him who had incapacitated her. Not that any of that mattered now.

"It's time." said Kakashi, effectively ending Naruto's train of thought.

Naruto and Pain both turned their heads to him in unison. Kakashi placed one of his hands to his side as he calmly said, "Let's begin the operation."

Naruto looked back to Pain who was mirroring his actions in turn. Naruto smiled with confidence giving her own spirit a boost. He said, "It looks like it's almost time to get you out of here."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter looks noticeably longer, doesn't it? That's because, after reading the last chapter's comments, I decided to combine two chapters. I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Flowers for Pain

**Chapter 4- Flowers for Pain **

The orange-haired kunoichi waited patiently as her captors prepared her for sleep. Her thoughts were distant from them. She didn't even notice Naruto staring at her from behind.

She was afraid. She hoped the interrogators would verify that she wasn't this Pain she had been labeled. The fear of it being true haunted her. She had hid the fact that she remembered her time as Pain. What if that memory was proof she was this villain? But had she been Pain at that time or was she merely being controlled? She couldn't help but recall the voice she had heard earlier, the one that said she was Pain. Was it something in her subconscious? Maybe it was simply her fears tactfully manipulating her. That made sense.

_Please be the truth._ That boy had staked himself on her. She didn't want to betray his faith. If she turned out to be Pain then what would he think of her?

"All right now," said a female voice. The woman had identified herself to her as Shizune. She guided the girl to a bed to her side. The girl sat herself down and submissively turned as she lay down. Her eyes caught site of Naruto. Naruto seemed to notice because he spun towards her and threw up a fist with his thumb sticking out. He winked. She wasn't sure what it meant, but he seemed cheerful.

"See ya soon. The doctors say I have to leave for now, but I'll be back before you wake up. Okay?"

"Mmm" she nodded with a grateful tone.

The medic put a hand to her collar bone to hold her down while another reached down. Up she pulled a mask connected to three transparent pipes. The mask was placed on Pain's mouth. She felt herself lose consciousness yet again…

When she came to she was in a different bed. She could hear activity from all around her. She opened her eyes slowly until her sight became apparent. This was a hospital wing. Patients were talking to their visitors while nurses tended to their needs. The only watch she had was the steel gaze of her four ANBU guards.

Pain looked out to the direction the sunlight was coming from. The sun streaming in through the window was still too bright to bear. She squinted to see what was lying on the table beneath the window sill.

Her eyes lit up. There was a small bouquet of blue flowers wrapped around by reflective black paper. She smiled warmly at it. It was another thing she found herself instinctively understanding. It dawned on her then just how much knowledge she had retained. Her memories were gone but she could still breathe, talk, and walk just fine. Who knew what else she would recognize or what would come back to her. Immediately, her previous worry struck away her surge of optimism. Perhaps she was better off not remembering some things.

"You like them?"

Pain looked up with wonder to see Naruto beaming down on her.

"I love them" she said. She reached out and grabbed them. Her hands guided the flower arrangement to her nose. She took a deep breathe and inhaled their dazzling aroma.

Naruto grinned. He said, "Great. I got them from Ino. I'm lucky so many of her shop's flowers were okay. Oh wait, you don't know who Ino is yet. I'll have to introduce you to her. When all is done, I'll have to introduce you to all my friends. If... if you like."

The young woman looked up from her flowers. She examined the boy more closely this time. She noticed the odd placement of whiskers on his head. What drew her in though were his dark blue eyes. They were more vivid than anything in the room, even the blossoms in her hands.

"I'd like that." Her eyes were relaxed and blissful.

Naruto smiled back and then said, "You look good."

Her eyes fluttered twice but she gave no reply.

He quickly followed up by saying, "I mean— I think you're prettier without the piercings."

_That's right._

The revelation dawned on her now. She sat up and looked at her arms. It was remarkable. There wasn't even a mark left where each black rod had been. She touched her hands to her nose and began to rub it. There was nothing else there. It was as if she had never been possessed. The only relic of her time as Pain was her orange locks.

"Oh good. She's awake." said Shizune. She strolled forward juggling a red-attired pig and a clipboard in her arms. It was a strange sight even for Naruto.

"And how are you feeling?"

The girl looked at her, not quite sure what to say. The older woman was being kind to her and treating her like the nurses were treating their patience—with love and care.

She finally mustered up a reply. "I'm feeling much better."

"Wonderful. Oh! Naruto, I see you brought her some flowers. How considerate. Here's something from me as well." She placed the pig onto her patient's table leaving it to look around in confusion. She reached under her clipboard and revealed a small ivory mirror.

"This is for you. I imagine you'd like to see how you look now."

She handed the speechless girl the mirror. The girl held it out about a foot from her profile. Pain angled the mirror back and forth to examine herself. She found a smile forming at the corner of her mouth. Her face was free of the piercings. It was the first time she had seen what she looked like. Her skin was cleaner than she had expected. It was pale, but just tan enough to give her some color. Her eyes were a blue lighter than Naruto's and outlined by pronounced eyelashes. Her hair was a fiery orange that came down in long bangs that reached her chin. The top of her hair was knotted into two crescent moons. Her jaw was thin and feminine in shape. She absorbed the image for a second trying to connect it to how she would see herself in the future.

"See? Didn't I say you looked beautiful?" asked Naruto.

The girl quickly spun her head towards him. Her cheeks turned a shade of red, but she didn't look away.

"Y-You really think so? You think I'm beautiful?"

Naruto became more uncomfortable, cursing himself for his impulsive actions around her. "Well yeah… um… I... I mean it."

Shizune gawked at the unusual sight. She then gave a calmer smile and scooped the pig back into her arms. She shut her eyes and turned to leave the vicinity.

She said, "Well, I can see you're taking good care of her. I'm off then to check on Tsunade-sama."

Naruto said, "Wait."

She stopped and shot a glance back at him from the corner of her eye.

He continued, "Tell me if her condition changes at all."

Shizune said, "Don't worry. You'll know as soon as I do."

Once Shizune was gone, the girl turned her full attention back to Naruto. She wasn't quit sure what to say, but wanted try her luck at a real conversation.

"So who is Tsunade-sama?"

Naruto was taken off guard by the question. His eyes narrowed as he prepared himself for a more serious train of thought. He knew she wouldn't like what he would tell her.

"She was the Hokage, the ninja in charge of our village. The granny was a powerful ninja and an even better doctor."

"What happened to her?" the girl asked, half afraid of what the answer would be.

"She sacrificed herself to heal the villagers from Pain's attack. She used up all of her chakra and fell into a coma."

Naruto saw sadness fall onto the girl's face. Perhaps it was better she knew now and dealt with it.

Pain couldn't help her sense of guilt from Naruto's story. She shook away the thought and argued mentally, "No! That isn't right. That wasn't me. I haven't done anything wrong."

_How can you be sure of that?_

The girl heard that same doubt reveal itself again. She couldn't distinguish whether it was her own fear or something else influencing her. Was it Pain? No, that was impossible. The man named Nagato was dead. He couldn't use her anymore. She was free, free to live her new life how she wanted. But what if those memories, those doubts were something more? Was she a danger to everyone around her? She couldn't know. But she knew it was best to wait until her next examination. Then hopefully she could know for certain.

* * *

**Author's Note:** It can be a terrifying thing- having your very identity called into question. It's only worse when an author like myself combines that drama with fluff.

P.S. No one comment on the title.


	5. Secret of the Yamanaka Clan

**Chapter 5- Secret of the Yamanaka Clan **

The next few hours, Kakashi Hatake and Inoichi Yamanaka discussed the procedures for Pain's cognitive scan. Inoichi explained how Konoha's mind reaching amplification machine had been destroyed along with it. However, he could perform the mind reading alone. It would just take more time.

At last, the preparations were complete. Pain's female body was connected to the device while Inoichi's palm rested firmly on the top of her head. The next eight hours he spent digging into every crevice of her psyche.

When her eyes opened up again, she knew it was over. She saw the well-aged face of Inoichi panting in front of her. She reached her hand out to help him up. Inoichi looked up at her in surprise. He accepted her gesture and they stood up together.

Inoichi turned around to find Kakashi leaning coolly against the wall. He said, "Should we take this conversation to the next room?"

Inoichi looked back at the girl. He saw her almost jump as he began to speak. She was anxious, he could tell. Truthfully, her heart was racing faster than ever before.

The blonde haired man shook his head. "It's okay. It's best she hear what I have to say."

He shut his eyes when he said, "I've been everywhere I could be in her memories. When it comes to her original memories, I've hit a wall. The memories I want to access I can't. But this trace goes back a few days ago. The memories of Pain are there, but they're suppressed. That is except for one."

She looked at him with a sense of shame. She had known they would discover it eventually, but still disliked having it in the open.

"But don't get me wrong. She isn't Pain. She's a unique personality feeding off of her amnesiac old self. Let me explain."

"Our Clan's technique, the Mind Body Switch technique, transfers our mind over to the recipient's. While we possess their minds, they retain full awareness. Our personality, thoughts, and feelings don't affect their own consciousness in the slightest. However, the Rinnegan must be different. Pain used chakra receivers to send over the Rinnegan and impose the user's will on the other. This appears to reanimate the body without it regaining consciousness. My theory is that in the time he spent using her brain, some of Pain's mind- personality traits and shared memories, were written onto her. Luckily, her own mind is smart enough to subconsciously identify and suppress the enemy's imprint."

The orange haired girl smiled slightly at this news. Kakashi however was skeptical.

Inoichi continued, "The memories I found of Pain only take up about fourteen hours."

"That little?" asked Kakashi. "You think she was a brand new body."

Inoichi nodded with confidence.

Kakashi said, "That explains why Pain's jutsu worked on her and not the other bodies. It must have a limited time of action. I wonder why though that Pain waited for so long? Did it take that long for him to find a replacement for last body?"

"That makes sense. I think that's the closest we can come to unraveling this mystery. At least, without asking Pain himself."

The girl took a cautious step back. Inoichi must have noticed because he smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean it like that."

He continued his explanation. "Pain doesn't seem to have any hold on her. Things can become confusing from time to time, but that's because her own personality, the unique new one, is still adapting to life. Overtime, her mind will adapt too and weed out Pain's influence. This isn't speculation. Our clan's technique wasn't always so refined. We practiced it in secret on prisoners, sometimes even for long time periods. It once did affect the user's mind, but their own minds overpowered our leftover influences."

Inoichi took a breathe of air, holding his anticipating audience in agony for a moment.

"As for her original memories… well, I believe the girl must have received amnesia in battle while she was still alive. Whatever the reason, her current mind is feeding off of what bits have returned. The memories will most likely return at a steady pace. What she has now seems to be enough to get through everyday life."

Kakashi walked up to the girl and met her gaze. He looked at her attentive eyes and said, "I think you can relax for now. Even if some of Pain's memories return, they're not your own. I'll have to keep you monitored, but it looks like you can be released."

Her face lit up and she unexpectedly fell to her feet. Her mind was flooding with emotion, the greatest of which was relief. She finally knew she wasn't directly responsible for the village's destruction and she wasn't the mind of a criminal possessing a deceased girl's body. It almost felt absurd to think otherwise. She knew who she was. Something irked her as she thought this. She was sure this time though it was her own mind's warning. What it said was that even if she hadn't meant to, she was still the weapon that had been used to hurt what were probably innocent people. It also reminded her of the influence Inoichi had mentioned. Pain was still in there. But at least he didn't have control. She regained herself at this comforting thought.

She asked Kakashi, "But what should I do?"

"That depends. What do you want to do?"

Her mind wandered to thoughts concerning her freedom. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet. Just what could she spend her life doing? Something more immediate was finally getting to see the outside world. Then something hit her. There was something else she wanted to do…

"Can I see Naruto?"

Kakashi laughed behind his mask. "I figured you'd want to see my pupil. You two seem to have a soft spot for each other."

She gasped and looked away shyly. Kakashi couldn't help but smile at her cuteness. Poor Naruto wouldn't stand a chance…

* * *

"So it's like a fresh start huh?"

She nodded. Pain had finished explaining the results of her examination to Naruto. She hadn't however given all the details.

"That's great. So what will you do now?"

She had given it some thought, but was still unsure herself. "I want to see what its like outside. But I don't know how to start a life here."

"Start a life?" asked Naruto, "Hmm. I suppose you'd need a place to stay and a job to pay for everything. Hmm but first things first. We've got to get some food in your stomach. You're hungry right?"

Pain looked at her stomach as if she expected to find a meter to gauge it. Indeed it had been feeling empty since her appetite returned or to her, first appeared. Her hands had becoming clammier as well.

She nodded vigorously.

"All right, let's go then."

Naruto lead the way through the maze of hallways. Right now, they were underground in one of Konoha's two bunkers. All around, ANBU and Jounin were bustling about. The girl stayed close behind Naruto, practically hiding behind his back. He didn't mind though. There was always the chance someone would recognize her. At least she had her recognizable red-hair hidden under a snow cap. Shizune had provided a ninja's standard attire of a black shirt and pair of pants to go with it.

Pain was close enough to Naruto's back to catch a bit of his scent. He smelled warm: with oil, dirt, and something pleasant she didn't know to be ramen. She savored the scent. She would remember it like she had the aroma of the blue bouquet sitting by her bed.

She thought back to Kakashi's embarrassing remark regarding her and Naruto. She knew it was true. She had grown attached to him so quickly. The girl wanted it to stay that way. "But can it?" she wondered. She clutched at her chest as a frightening thought took hold.

_I can't tell you. I'm scared Naruto. I'm scared what you'll do if you find out._

"Excuse me!" said a voice. Naruto froze in his steps. He looked behind him and saw an unfamiliar Chounin dashing for him. The man reached him and said, "Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to get a chance to see you in person."

"You wanted to see me?" asked Naruto.

The man nodded happily.

It finally hit Naruto as to why. He had completely forgotten that the entire village had come to acknowledge him. For the longest time, he had been considered a failure to others and by himself. But having saved the village, he had become something of a hero. It was still too much to wrap his brain around.

Konoha's hero gave his admirer a toothy grin. The man smirked before saying, "We owe everything to you. All of Konoha is in your debt really."

Naruto rubbed his neck in embarrassment. What could he say at a time like this? He was used to boasting his ambitions, albeit less than he used to. But this was different. This time it was everyone and their mother boasting about him.

The man gave a quick bow before running back to his team. The others mumbled amongst themselves.

A male in his group said, "Who's that with him? I've never seen her with him before."

"Well, he's a hero now. I'm sure getting a girlfriend wasn't that difficult." said a female back.

These embarrassing remarks were out of earshot of the two friends. They were nearly out of the complex now. It was then that Naruto began to fidget. Pain looked to him with interest in her eyes.

He said, "Sorry, I ought to have told you. It was me who fought Pain at the end."

Pain walked in front of Naruto to stand in his way. "Don't apologize. You haven't done anything wrong. Besides, I already knew."

"You did?"

"Mmm-hmm. I heard some shinobi calling you Konoha's savior. Everyone looks at you when we walk by them. I thought you must have done something extraordinary."

"I'm not use to all the attention." he said, "And thanks for being fine with it."

"It's really all right. I—It's strange to say but I'm glad it was you who defeated me."

Naruto jumped a bit. Pain suddenly took a step backwards. She knew she had slipped up, but maybe she could still fix this.

She explained, "I mean as Animal Path."

Her eyes widened with shock. She couldn't believe what she had just admitted.

Naruto said, "You knew? You remember that much?"

Pain found herself pinned against the wall as Naruto stretched his arms out on either side of her, blocking any attempt to retreat. Her widened eyes were fixed on his intense scrutiny.

"And you didn't tell me?" he asked. Pain's mouth dropped open as if to speak. The words failed her. Her face contorted into fear and tears began to well up from her bottom lids. Passersby stopped to look at the dispute.

Naruto suddenly withdrew. He hadn't expected to get such a reaction from her. His heart almost melted when he saw how miserable she looked.

"Why are you—why are you crying?" he asked.

"Please… don't leave me." she said trying to hold back her tears.

"Leave… you?" he asked. His raised eyebrows lowered and he looked at her with determination.

"I would never leave you."

"But… I couldn't keep your promise. I still have Pain's memories. Don't you hate me—_him_ for what he did to your village?"

"Yes and no. I can't forgive him. Not for all the things he took from me or from everyone here. But I also respect him. But what does that have to do with anything? Are you saying your Nagato?"

She shook her head. "I know I'm not him. Though sometimes I have strange thoughts that don't seem to be mine. I get confused."

"Then that's it. Good. To be honest, I was afraid for a second that you were really a guy then."

"Eh?! I'm…" She couldn't help but give a giggle through her frail attempt at a protest. The truth was she wasn't sure exactly how she could prove she was a feminine personality. But she was sure this was the case.

Her train of thought hit a dead end when her stomach gave off a ravenous growl.

"Whoops. We better hurry up and get you some food. Come on, let's go." said Naruto.

Pain looked at him for a moment, feeling a sense of joy at his acceptance of her. She shut her eyes to bask in this warm sensation. When she reopened her eyes, she was alive. She was ready to seek out her new life, one she hoped to spend with the ninja named Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Oh dear, I still remember trying to come up with this mental mumbo jumbo. Let's just say that trying to balance authentic amnesia science, Naruto-universe mind techniques, and a justification for the plot gives you something like this.


	6. An Acquired Taste

**Chapter 6- An Acquired Taste **

Pain placed an arm over her face to block out the sun's blinding gaze. Naruto reached his fingers between her spare and slowly guided her forward. She was surprised for only a moment before serenely following along.

Her eyes wandered between the people and their backdrops. The scarring of Konoha wasn't attractive. Remnants of buildings were heaped together everywhere she looked. It was a wasteland. This wasteland was changing though, ever so slowly. Everyone she saw was helping out by carrying lumber or creating the frames for new buildings. The only hands that were idle were the children racing around her.

A young girl peeked up from behind the dog she was petting. She beamed and ran to Naruto, letting out an enthusiastic giggle. The other kids nearby dropped whatever they were doing and followed suit.

It wasn't long before the couple was completely surrounded. The kids all wanted to see the hero of Konoha. They either tried to hug him or give him childish gifts like candy and scribbled artwork. One small boy, wearing a cap, was holding flowers. He sneaked up behind them and tugged on the hem of Pain's sleeve. The young woman turned her attention to the boy. He retreated a few inches and pushed down on his hat.

"Yes?" she asked with her usual slight tone.

He dramatically threw forward his hands, presenting her with a freshly-pulled bunch of purple daisies.

"Eh?"

The other kids went silent, including Naruto.

He mumbled something that sounded like, "For you."

She reached for them and admired them for a second. Then she drew them up to her nose and took in their subtle fragrance.

She smiled and said sweetly, "Thank you."

The boy blushed and ran the opposite way, followed by all the other children who Naruto guessed had gone to tease him. And so his session of fame with Konoha's youth came to a swift conclusion.

Pain kept her eyes on the flowers for a while. Naruto said, "You got an admirer already? Man, I had to work for mine!"

She said, "An admirer?"

"Yeah, I think he likes you."

"W-Why?"

"He probably thinks you're cute. Don't worry about it, just be flattered."

She nodded with a small, "Mmm".

"And here we are!"

Naruto ran forward to where several ninja were seated in a circle. The ones he recognized were Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Choji looked up and waved a plump hand at the visitors.

"So dad's gonna be busy—huh? Naruto?" asked Shikamaru, "I suppose you're here for lunch."

"Yep." he answered back. Shikamaru looked to the side of Naruto where he saw a black-garbed girl holding on tightly to his hand. He remained unresponsive as his sharp mind tried to make sense of this. He knew what it looked like, but he wanted to know what it _was_.

"Is this the girl?" asked Ino.

"Yeah."

Ino looked at her, then at Naruto, and then at their hands. She made a mischievous look and asked, "Oh?"

"I'm not explaining things again." he said.

Ino brushed aside her blonde fringe and rested her chin on a hand. "Okay, Okay. I'm sorry; it's just sweet is all."

Naruto glared before saying, "Let me introduce you to them. This is Team Ten. And these people are Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Chojo Akimichi."

"And you are?" asked Shikamaru, sending the question to the red head.

Naruto answered quickly, "She is—um…"

"Damn it. I forgot about that part. All right, Shikamaru… can you and your team keep a secret?"

* * *

"You really don't know how strange this all sounds do you? How troublesome…" said Shikamaru, rubbing his temple.

Naruto said, "Anyway, can we eat now? We're starving here!

Choji said, "I got it Naruto. Two hot cups of ramen coming up!"

He pulled off the tin foil lids of the soup cups. A cloud of steam was released accordingly and he dropped in the chop sticks. Naruto placed out his hands and carefully navigated them back to their seats. Animal Path looked down at the cups eagerly.

"Well start you off with just one. Shizune warned me that your stomach isn't ready to take in a lot of food. You could… um … get sick-ish."

"You mean she'll throw up?" asked Choji.

"Yes Choji," said an annoyed Shikamaru, "I believe that's what he means."

Pain said, "Okay." She reached out as he handed her the boiling cup of noodles.

"Careful, you'll burn yourself if you don't let it cool down first."

She nodded in return and said, "Thank you."

Naruto said a quick word of thanks and scooped up a bunch of noodles with his chopsticks. He blew on it once before inhaling them.

Animal Path looked down at her cup somberly. She felt saliva backing up in her throat so she swallowed it. She quickly glanced up at Naruto. She followed his chopsticks up to from his cup to his mouth. Pain looked down at her chopsticks and then picked them up. She held them awkwardly as one might hold a pair of dirty socks.

She glanced back at Naruto again before returning to her utensils. She slowly scooped up a single noodle and squeezed the wooden sticks together. Carefully she blew on it. She checked on Naruto again and then carried the food up to her mouth. She hurriedly let it go as she took a bite at it. The noodle and its hot broth landed in her lap.

Shikamaru and Ino who had been studying her both let out a small gasp. Naruto noticed and traced their line of site back to the girl before they could look away.

"Oh, don't worry about it."

Pain looked at the noodle with a sense of dismay. Quickly she picked it up by her fingers and dropped in the bowl. She picked it up her chopsticks and tried again. The effect was the same, only Naruto was worried now.

"Don't tell me… you don't know how to hold chopsticks?" he asked, not hiding his disbelief.

"Sorry." she said, "I can't seem to get the hang of it."

"I suppose it is rather difficult the first time. Let's practice okay?"

She nodded as Naruto said, "Do as I do and you'll have it done in no time."

"You're like my sensei."

"S-sensei?" he asked.

He saw that she was smiling almost to the point it looked like a smirk.

"Okay then… student. Follow my lead."

Pain obediently followed his hand gestures. She had it almost down now. A few times the chopsticks fell, but each time she got better at it.

"This time. This time for I'll have it." she told herself.

She carried the small bite of food up to her lips and opened up. A drop of the salty soup landed on her tongue. The chopsticks landed in her hand and drops of the hot liquid stung her arms.

"What?" asked Naruto. She had been so close to succeeding. What had went wrong? That was when he realized her hands were trembling.

"That figures" said Shikamaru, "She has low blood sugar. Chouji, you got a spoon on you?"

Choji shook his head.

"Sorry, I didn't bring any of this. But I didn't see any silverware when they set up. I can ask for some."

"It's okay." said Naruto. He grabbed a hold of her chopsticks and said, "Open your mouth."

"Huh?" she asked flustered.

"Trust me okay?"

"'Okay."

All three members of Team Ten became distracted from their eating by Naruto's act of chivalry. He scooped up several noodles with the chopsticks and brought them to the rim of the woman's mouth.

"Blow" he said.  
She let out a small puff of air. She could still see some steam coming off of the noodles so she blew two more times. Naruto dropped the ramen onto her small palette. She responsively shut her mouth and chewed. Her taste buds nearly caused her to black out as her mind was overcome with the taste of food- good food. She savored it before swallowing it altogether.

"Blow" said Naruto as another spoonful was ready to go.

She chewed on it while Naruto prepared a small pork cutlet. She looked at it lustfully and the boy obliged to her eagerness to fill her empty stomach.

Finally, he handed her the bowl whose last quarter was full of the lukewarm broth. She scooped it up and swallowed it, a small stream of yellow leaking out from the corner of her mouth.

Ino and Shikamaru almost burst out laughing, but rather clutched their stomachs. Choji looked at them with an expression that meant, "I don't get it. What's so strange about the way she eats?"

Naruto handed her a napkin which she looked at curiously.

"For your face. You've got a bit of…"

She felt the side of her cheek and found a sliver of noodle attached to it. She picked it off and placed it into her mouth. Her lips smacked together and she reached out for the napkin.

As she wiped her cheeks, Naruto tried to suppress his laughter. He finally uttered, "Pfft- Sorry. I just wasn't expecting _you_ to do that."

Ino and Shikamaru both felt the sweat drop form behind their heads.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

"Well no. It's just…" The words he needed failed him.

"I'm pushing my luck aren't I?" he asked himself, "If this were Sakura, I would have been decked the second I spoke up."

Naruto handed her a packet of crackers to top off the ramen. He figured she was still hungry, as she munched quickly on the wafers, but Naruto recalled Shizune's warning.

"So…" asked Naruto at last. A trickle of sweat was pouring down his face. There was something he had been waiting to ask. He had the sense to wait until after she was done eating to get to his question.

"How was the ramen?" he finished.

She licked her lips and turned her sapphire gaze to him. She said, "It was delicious!"

"Really? Well, of course! It's ramen. But anyway, you pass the test."

"Test?" she inquired.

"Yep. The Uzumaki Naruto friendship test. Anyone who likes ramen is a friend in my books and cool at that."

"We're… friends?" she asked. The bowl dropped from her fingers and she unexpectedly threw herself onto him. Naruto felt his cheeks heat up again. Her chin was resting on his shoulder and she had her eyes shut. Her embrace tightened as far as her still recovering body would allow.

"Yeh-Yeah."

As her happiness died down, Pain was left feeling the warmth of their hug. She could hear Naruto's heart beating and her own beginning to match it. He was so close…

She at last loosened her grip and scooted back to her side of the log.

"Sorry. A-Are you okay?" asked Pain.

Naruto rubbed his face in an attempt to shake off his bewilderment. He selectively chose to ignore the three faces glued to him and the girl. He said, "Sharp as a kunai. Anyway, we should get going. I want to introduce you to Sakura-chan and Yamato-sempai."

He pulled himself to his feet with a sigh of contentment. He stretched his cramped back and then rubbed his stomach. Pain stood up and asked, "Why are you rubbing your belly?"

"Oh. It means I'm full."

Pain found her own stomach which had been growling a moment ago had settled down and now agreed with him.

She put a hand to her belly and followed suit.

After a quick farewell, the duo headed out again. Pain found herself cherishing a single word.

Friends.

"Thank you Naruto." she said silently, "Wait a minute, what if I hadn't enjoyed the ramen? Would we still be friends then?"

Animal Path looked at Naruto, half expecting his own image to give her the answer. When she saw his peaceful face, she knew. This boy would have been her friend no matter what. Not even fate could have prevented their meeting or their bond from ever forming.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Typically, new chapters should be posted on Fridays and Sundays. Thank you for reading!


	7. Introductions

**Chapter 7- Introductions **

Kakashi was seeing to Konoha's new defense plans when a familiar pony-tailed man waltzed into his tent. Two ANBU guards blocked his path. Kakashi gave a lazy wave that signaled them to stand down.

Inoichi said, "You look well for someone handling all of the Hokage's duties."

"Don't remind me. There's a meeting coming tomorrow. I think you and me both know what it is the Feudal Lord wants to speak of."

"Naming a successor already?"

"A temporary Hokage isn't a bad idea, but they've been looking to remove Tsunade for a while now. I'm sure the elders have been complaining."

"That's not all your worried about is it?"

"I wouldn't say it worries me, but I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge if I'm selected. That is if I'm selected. I'm not the only one qualified."

"You'd prefer Danzo took the position then?" asked Inoichi.

Kakashi sighed. "Our options are thin huh?"

Inoichi decided to change the subject before stressing Kakashi any further.

"So how is the girl? Has she gotten a name yet?"

"She's doing fine for the most part. I'm hoping her and Naruto decide on a name. That's what she wants."

"What do you mean 'for the most part'?"

"The ANBU tell me that the girl's shown a few signs of confusion. She seemed to unconsciously refer to herself as Pain and recalled being Animal Path. She wasn't even surprised by the revelation."

"I told you, without a doubt, she's not that man. I'd actually say everything is going as it should. The memories manifest themselves in the early stage. Give it a few days and she'll be completely free of them. Pain's hold on her wasn't exactly long either."

"That's a relief to hear. We can't say exactly what will happen, but I think it's safe to remove the ANBU monitoring her in the daytime. She hasn't any of Pain's abilities, but if something goes unexpected, I want someone to be there."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Well, the decision was surprisingly easy. Why not keep the status quo the way it is?"

"The way it is? Who's watching over her now? Naruto?"

Kakashi's eye shut, which Inoichi knew was accompanied by a smile. He smiled back at the copy ninja and said, "Naruto's proven himself as this village's strongest shinobi hasn't he? We couldn't pick a stronger escort. Plus from what Ino tells me, he's inspirational to those around him. He'll have a positive influence on her. That's exactly what she needs for what she's going through right now. A true friend."

* * *

Pain and Naruto continued their leisurely stroll through new Konoha. Naruto noticed that a most of the villagers were in high spirits today. He felt it himself, a feeling of optimism despite the bleak state of things. Perhaps it was the compensation of today's perfect weather. The afternoon sky was Konoha's signature blue and white cotton clouds were scattered about it. Gentle breezes passed through Konohagakure, bringing along freshly plucked dandelion seeds. The real blessing was that that this comfortable weather wasn't putting the laborers to sleep.

"So where are we headed now?" asked Pain.

"To the middle of town. I want to show you the best place to see the Hokage Monument. Then let's see if we can find Sakura-chan."

Animal Path nodded and looked back to the road they were traveling. She wondered who this Sakura person was. Whoever they were, they meant a great deal to Naruto. The girl couldn't help but feel a little sadness at this. She didn't know why. Maybe if more memories returned, she would have the answer.

She looked lonely up at the sky while thinking, 'When will they return? Will I find out who I was? What my name is?'

Immediately after saying it, Pain found herself feeling less interested in this revelation than before. Suddenly she wondered if her past could turn out to be another ugly memory. What then?

She shook off the discouraging thought.

_I'll keep moving. I have a new life now. Even if the memories don't return, that's okay. I'm content here with Naruto._

Just saying his name reminded her she didn't have to bear this alone. This young man was watching out for her. She wasn't sure how to thank him or to say what he meant to her. She felt a sudden pain in her chest as her heart skipped a beat. She clutched it reassuringly.

_This feeling...is it love?_

* * *

"Love" Animal Path found herself saying it out loud, that comforting word. She wasn't sure just what her feelings for Naruto meant. Just thinking his name inspired affection, but what kind? She needed time to think and to see how far this seed between them would grow.

"L-love?" asked Naruto. "I didn't say anything about love! S-Sakura-chan and I are just friends. Heh heh."

Pain hadn't meant to say her thought out loud. She hadn't a clue why Naruto was acting so strangely.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah. We—wait a second… you didn't hear a thing I said did you? You were spacing out."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you Naruto."

"Don't worry about it. But… why did you say 'love' then?"

"That's…" Suddenly, she found herself wishing there was something she could hide herself behind. It was just too embarrassing to tell him.

Luckily, Naruto's attention span had already run out. "So… have any idea what you want to do after? Just think about it, you have a whole new life ahead of you! Endless possibilities."

Animal Path felt the same way. She wasn't afraid anymore. She couldn't even say she cared about her past. What she felt and saw in front of her was her reality.

"I have, but this world is still so new to me. I don't know how to start a life in it."

"You're staying though, right? Here in Konoha? I know it's not much anymore, but you'll have friends."

Pain smiled lovingly at him and said, "I want to stay. I …like it here."

"That's great. So now all we need is a place for you stay! Hmm I suppose we could sleep at one of the tents at Shikamaru's camp. Sound good?"

She didn't know what a tent was, but she believed him.

"Mm-hmm"

"Naruto!" said a distant voice. His blue eyes looked up to see a welcome face approaching him. He could recognize that pink haired kunoichi if she were a mile away. She wasn't dressed in her ninja outfit but instead similar but more casual attire.

"Sakura-chan!"

Animal Path hid shyly behind Naruto for a moment. She finally peeked out to look attentively at the girl Naruto thought so highly of. After all, she wanted to know Naruto better and that meant meeting his other friends as well.

Sakura stopped several feet in front of Naruto before lowering her head.

"Hey Naruto…" she said quietly.

A curious "huh?" escaped his lips.

The immediate answer was her right hook. It sent him plummeting several meters in the opposite direction. All the while, Sakura was shouting, "You bastard! Taking the day off to try to impress some girl while everyone else is working their butts off!"

She shut her eyes and gave a small huff that ended with, "Jeez"

Sakura hadn't noticed that as soon as she had sent Naruto hurdling, the orange-haired girl's eyes had filled unmistakably with concern. She immediately ran to Naruto and cradled him.

"Hey Naruto! Naruto! Are you okay?"

His eyes followed his current mental state, spiraling perpetually. He somehow said, "I'm need worry. Fine, no need to really about me."

Sakura looked at the worried girl and said. "Don't worry. It would take more than—"

"Stay back!" said Animal Path. "I won't let you hurt him!"

By now, Naruto had recovered and found the two kunoichi in a heated predicament. The real shocker to him was how Pain was taking this. She was standing in front of him with her arms wide apart. It was an amateurish stance, one for receiving blows, not delivering them.

Naruto grabbed her wrists gently from behind. It hadn't been a split second since he had recovered. Animal Path was too shocked to see him standing to know what to do. She at last turned around. Naruto's cheek was slightly swollen from Sakura's punch.

"It's okay! It's okay. I really am fine." he said. Naruto rubbed his hand through his spiky hair awkwardly.

"Naruto..." she said, pointing to his cheek.

"This?" he asked as he rubbed it, "That's nothing. Something like this isn't anything to worry about. Besides, if Sakura had been serious, I'd be dead right now."

Animal Path was trying to make sense of it all. Her own mind was still recovering.

"Besides," he said more gravely, "I don't want my friends to ever have to fight."

Pain felt uncomfortable now facing him.

"I'm…" She hung her head. Pain knew she'd overreacted. At the time, it had felt like the right thing to do. She had been overcome with fear for his life and done the only thing she knew to do: tried her best to help him. But Naruto trusted Sakura. Pain felt like a fool now for not trusting him.

Naruto shook his head. "Thanks though… for protecting me. You'd make a good shinobi with that spirit."

His words did little to comfort her. She felt she had only caused trouble. The word "shinobi" left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. It described Naruto true. But she couldn't imagine herself hurting someone. It made her actions earlier seem all the more stupid.

"I'm sorry too." said Sakura. "I guess I got carried away. In any case, if you don't know, I'm Haruno Sakura. And Naruto here is my teammate."

She reached out a hand to the downcast girl. Pain looked up and stared transfixed on the girl's glove-clad hand.

"This is… Um…" She turned to Naruto.

Naruto said, "It's a handshake. You grab her hand and – shake. It's a way of saying hello."

"Ah" she said lightly. Their hands clasped and feeling the girl's firm grip, Pain felt her own hand dragged up and down by Sakura's. Sakura giggled at the awkward gesture.

"So who are you anyway?" asked Sakura.

"Right." pondered Naruto, "I hope she buys it."

He then proceeded to explain the situation to Sakura. Her eyebrows occasionally rose with suspicion, but for the most part, she simply nodded.

When it was over, Sakura said, "No one tells me anything around here. I mean I'm your teammate and I'm the last one to know. Of course, I would have had trouble believing it if I hadn't seen her myself."

She looked at Pain and said, "Anyway, it's nice to meet you."

"Um… you too." said Chikushodo.

"I hope Naruto hasn't been too much of a pain."

Pain said quickly, "He's been nothing but kind to me. I don't know what I'd do without him."

"That doesn't sound like you at all Naruto."

Naruto flapped his arms backward and said, "What do you mean by that Sakura-chan?"

"Well, you're loud, insensitive, and thick-headed. But somehow you gave her a weird first impression. Oh and stupid too."

"Naruto isn't stupid!" said Pain, though not angrily. "He's strong and smart and extremely kind. There must be a different Naruto or something."

"Um… I guess I was mistaken then." said Sakura, not wanting to offend the girl anymore. She marveled at this girl's view of her foolhardy partner. Just what did she see in him? Sure Naruto had his good points, but ask anyone and they'd tell you he was a real chore to work with.

"Maybe I'm being too hard on him after all." thought Sakura, "She's naive, but she sees something in him. I'd be lying if I said you hadn't matured Naruto. I'll have to tell you myself sometime."

"Well, I'm off. Make sure to find her somewhere to stay Naruto."

"Where are you going?" he asked back.

"Back to Tsunade's tent. Shizune and I are taking turns watching over her. My parents and I will be staying there tonight so you go ahead."

Sakura took off at a brisk pace, leaving Naruto and his friend standing in the middle of the road. When she was out of sight, their heads quickly turned back facing each other. It was becoming something of a habit for them really.

"Say," said Naruto, "Do you really think I'm smart?"

"Y-Yeah."

Naruto stood dazed by her comment. He wasn't used to praise. Most of the villagers' words of praise had willingly gone over his head. For some reason though, Pain's comment meant the world to him. It was from someone who he had only recently met. But she seemed to accept and understand him more than anyone else. And she thought he was smart.

"Thank you." he said. "I don't know why it is you've been so kind to me, but thanks."

"You've got it all wrong." she said, "I'm the grateful one. You took care of me even though you didn't have to. But that's not all. I really mean this. I-I like you Naruto—I like everything about you."

A dazzling smile graced her face when she said it. Naruto couldn't help but stare at her as another breeze caused her hair to flutter softly. It tickled her nose causing her to wince. Her delicate fingers held her bangs in place until the wind had safely passed on. She opened her eyes at last and met his gaze for a second. When she saw him staring at her so intensely, she quickly looked away. A small red blush escaped her.

_I'm embarrassed again. Please don't look at me like that or I…_

Naruto said, "I like you too."

Her blush increased.

_I won't be able to help it._

* * *

**Author's Note: **The break after "love?" was due to it originally being a different chapter. I know it breaks up the flow, but I feel it's more effective than the chapter running non-stop.


	8. Sleeping Arrangements

**Chapter 8- Sleeping Arrangements **

"Hey Captain Yamato! Hey Captain Yamato!" The blonde waved his hand friendlily as he continued to call out in a voice that turned all eyes to him.

The brown haired Jounin turned himself around to look at his underling. Sweat gleamed off of his face. His exhaustion was caused from the toll of rebuilding most of the village with his bloodline limit.

"Okay Naruto. I hear you." he said. The man shifted his gaze to the lithe figure beside Naruto. She was hiding behind the boy, her eyes peering up over his shoulder. Yamato frowned.

When Naruto was close enough, Yamato said, "There's no need to introduce her. I've already gotten the briefing from the ANBU. Naruto, I need to speak to you alone."

Naruto turned around to look at his friend, as if to apologize to her and reassure he wouldn't be long. She said, "I'll wait here."

Naruto nodded and followed his recently appointed captain to behind a cumbersome stack of pipes. Animal Path stood about twenty feet away. She was angled as to see Naruto without appearing to be snooping. When she wasn't observing Naruto and Yamato, she kept her gaze low to avoid that of the construction workers.

"What is it?" asked Naruto.

"You have a mission from Kakashi-sempai. He's appointed you as the girl's escort of sorts. Since she's suffered amnesia, someone has to be there to help her. The other reason is because the ANBU are no longer keeping many tabs on her. You'll be observing her condition. This is important. If she shows any sign of returning to Pain's personality… you'll have to deal with it."

Naruto felt himself gulping and said, "You expect me to betray her?"

"This isn't a matter of betrayal. Even with amnesia, she's potentially dangerous. Do you really want someone else handling it if things escalate out of control?"

"I guess not."

"They tell me you befriended her rather quickly. I suppose I should be surprised, but I'm not. Anyway, you'll do fine. You're the best suited for this job."

"You really think so?"

Yamato laughed. "Sure you're reckless, but know one doubts you after you saved the village. Besides, when I say best suited, I mean because she trusts you. I don't mind you trusting her as long as you don't do anything irresponsible. So then…. can I count on you?"

Naruto looked to his side and saw Chikushodo. When she noticed his gaze, she looked up at him inquisitively. Naruto smiled and gave Yamato a thumbs up.

"Sure. You can count on me."

Inside, he was relieved to know they wouldn't be separated. He couldn't wait to see her face when he gave her the good news.

Yamato walked out with Naruto and stood in front of Animal Path.

"Well, I leave it to you." he said. Animal Path looked up at him and he said, "Take care of Naruto for me will you?"

Yamato turned and walked away. Naruto gawked saying, "Hey! You got it all backwards! I thought I was… don't ruin it!"

He crossed his arms and let himself calm down for a moment. A loud burst of machinery startled him and the girl. She let out a small shriek.

"Let's go talk somewhere else."

* * *

Naruto and Animal Path were sitting quietly on a bench. Naruto peaked over at her. Pain's neck was stretched up so that she could take in the sky most people took for granted. He waited until she was satisfied and had returned her attention to him.

"Guess what?" he asked. "It looks like we'll seeing each other a lot more. From now on, I'm your ninja bodyguard!"

She gawked at him, not seeming to understand.

Naruto asked, "Isn't that great?"

A small curl formed on her lips and then stretched to both sides. She opened her mouth and her eyes radiated with inexplicable joy. Still glowing, she wrapped her arms around one of his and said, "So we're staying together?"

Naruto, his attention split between forming a reply and fawning at her gesture, said, "That's right. Pretty cool huh?"

"Very… cool." she said.

Naruto laughed, leaving her to wonder at his amusement. A gust of wind sent the ribbon of his headband into his face. When he finished readjusting, he found himself staring up like she had been a moment ago. The sun it seemed had begun to set on the backdrop of Konoha. A blend of violet and deep orange began to appear on the horizon.

"Ack!" he said. "Is it that late? Come on, it'll be dark soon!"

He grabbed her hand roughly and yanked her after him. She let out a gasp a she was pulled through the streets by the rushing boy.

"What's happening?" she thought out loud.

Naruto said, "We're gonna find Yamato." He slapped his palm to his face and hissed.

"I'm so stupid! We don't even have a place to sleep yet!"

Naruto and Pain both looked at the unoccupied tent.

"You two go ahead and head in." said Yamato. "I'll won't be in till after midnight. It looks like their holding a town meeting." He muttered something under his breath.

"Huh?!" said Naruto, "But wait!"

Too late. Yamato had blitzed away in his urgency.

Naruto felt sweat forming on the back of his neck. He knew he wasn't the brightest ninja, but he knew what an intimate situation was approaching. He wondered if she herself was aware of it. Rather than dwell on that, his mind raced for a hasty solution.

He said quickly, "He's not thinking at all! Don't worry, I'll go find Shikamaru. I'm sure you can bunk with Ino, okay?"

Pain blinked at him, as was her favorite gesture to demonstrate her surprise or confusion.

At last she said, "Okay…"

Naruto detected the disappointment in her voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She tightly shut her eyes and shook her head viciously. "Nothing!"

Naruto scowled saying, "You can trust me okay? You can tell me anything no matter what it is."

She opened her eyes in surprise. She looked away and said, "It's just… I… I wanted to sleep with Naruto."

Already, she was blushing madly. She knew what it meant.

Naruto didn't answer her. It took a whole ten seconds before he overreacted. His face turned a red, concealed by the darkness, and he leapt back in his bewilderment.

"Sorry" she said, "You don't have to if you don't want to. I understand."

"That's not it" he said once he had calmed down.

"I was just…" he tried to find an excuse, "just wasn't expecting…" He lurched backwards on guard. It was instinctive of him now after the punishments he had suffered when slipping up around Sakura. Animal Path simply looked down at her feet.

"Come on." he said as he put a reassuring arm on her shoulder. She looked up to see him smiling down warmly at her. His blue orbs were the only source of light around Animal Path, adding to the entrancement they caused her.

Naruto grabbed both their sleeping bags, crouched down, and crawled into the tent. He unrolled both and carefully pressed out any wrinkles. He then turned on the small heater between their beds.

His head poked out a minute later. "All done!"

The young ninja reached out for the redhead's hand. She consented and was led into their small shelter. By now, the temperature of the room had gone up to a comfortable degree.

Naruto squirmed into the hole of his sleeping bag and proceeded to fill it out. Animal Path watched his lead and did the same. She faced Naruto for a second. The gap between their bags was the size of the heater, so only six inches. She saw his hair flutter as she exhaled. Instantly, she turned her head downwards and sunk it into the bottom of her sleeping bag.

There was a minute of silence between them. Naruto struggled between trying to look at her and simply starting a conversation. Finally he turned to the side she was on and spoke up.

"I don't know what to call you." he said.

Pain turned her red face to meet him.

He continued, "You need a name until you remember your old one. Is there anything in particular you'd like to be called?"

She thought long and hard about it. She'd only gathered a handful of names during the day. None of them seemed attractive to her.

"Uh-uh. Perhaps… you could think of one?"

"Me?" he asked before smiling. "If that's what you want."

She nodded and returned to burying her face shyly in her bed.

"Goodnight." said Naruto.

Her eyes looked back up at him one more time. Naruto was gazing up at the inner roof of the tent. She guessed that his mind had already begun to wander.

"Goodnight Naruto."


	9. The Midnight Hour

**Chapter 9- The Midnight Hour**

The raven haired teenager looked back at Naruto. The red and white symbol of the Uchiha was sown onto the back of his vest. He turned around revealing a youthful face with black eyes.

A deep voice said, "I already said didn't I? I'm not going back with you."

"Sasuke… I can't just sit here and do nothing." replied Naruto.

"Then go back. You can't change my mind so why bother trying? Or could it be this was never about our friendship? You're simply afraid of returning to Konoha empty-handed... as a failure. Are you afraid of what Sakura will think of you for breaking your promise? What a selfish coward you've become."

"Shut up! You're wrong!" said Naruto.  
Sasuke smirked and turned his head away. He began to stride softly away and his image was becoming blurrier as he did.

"Sasuke!" said Naruto. He reached out with his hand and said, "What are you doing? We're friends aren't we? Why… why can't you see anything except your revenge? Sakura and I… don't we matter?"

Sasuke stopped for a second.

"Just forget about me." He said and with that he went on his way. A blinding wall of light landscaped his exit. Without hesitation, he waltzed through it and vanished.

"Naruto!"

The voice was strange to him.

"Naruto…"

It was a voice of a woman. But he didn't know her.

His sight began to blur and suddenly, he felt a searing sensation run through his vision.

His dream was replaced by the black walls of his tent. Above him was an orange-haired girl looking down at him with some manner of worry.

He uttered in remembrance, "Pain…"

She winced in shock at his words. Naruto realized his mistake. He sat up and rubbed his eyes saying, "Sorry. I…"

Pain said, "You were speaking in your sleep."

"I guess I was having a nightmare."

"A nightmare?"

As she raised an eyebrow, he added, "A bad dream."

"Oh… I'm sorry if I bothered you."

"Not at all. Bad dreams are something people should be woken out of."

Pain said, "You kept saying 'Sasuke.'"

Naruto contemplated before answering her. "He was a member of Team Seven once. Before Sai and Yamato. I guess you could say he was my first real friend."

"Where is he?"

"He… left."

Naruto had to say more, but he couldn't. A lump formed in his throat and it threatened to suffocate him. He found himself scraping at the sides of his sleeping bag. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, if it was anger, sorrow, or loneliness.

He let out, "He joined the enemy so he could get more power. He needed to get stronger to beat someone who had caused him a lot of pain. Sasuke wouldn't wait anymore. I… we tried to bring him back… so many times… but every time we failed. I was always too weak to bring Sasuke back to the village. To bring him home."

He grit his teeth and cursed under his breathe.

"I'm sorry." said Pain, "It was wrong for me to bring it up."

Naruto motioned his head back and forth. "No. I'm not going to keep secrets from you. It's better you know. One day, I'll find him and confront him again. That time… I'll definitely bring him back."

"But what if you can't?" she asked.

Naruto glared at her and said, "What do you mean?! You want me to give up? Is that right?!"

He didn't notice the fear in her eyes as he roared at her.

The boy continued, "I can't turn back on my word. Someone who can't keep one promise can never hope to be Hokage. He's just a worthless loser who can't do anything!"

She said, "I'm sorry. I'll… I'll go away."

She quickly sat herself up and rushed out of the tent. Naruto didn't stop her. He was already so shocked at himself for snapping at her.

He saw an image of her back as she left. A similar image of Sasuke appeared in his mind.

_Everyone leaves me. Sarutobi, Sasuke, the perverted sage… dad, mom._

The young woman listened to the sound of the crickets scattered around her feet. She thought to herself, "I made him angry. I wanted to help him but…"

Pain began to regret her decision to run away. She was sure Naruto felt awful as a result.

_I should have just listened to him._

Pain took a deep breathe of air and walked back in. She saw Naruto still seated up. But he was… crying?

"Sorry…" he said. "I'm really sorry."

"No! It's fine… I shouldn't have left." she said.

"Don't apologize. You're always thinking you have to when no expects you to."

Pain was about to apologize yet again when she realized what he was saying. She smiled at him. Slowly, she scooted forward until she was practically on his lap.

"Naruto… please don't cry."

"I know." he said. He rubbed an arm across his eyes only for fresh tears to appear.

"Damn it." said Naruto, "Why am I like this?"

Pain suddenly grabbed a hold of his sides. She whispered, "I'll stay here then until all the tears have gone away."

Naruto wasn't crying anymore. He was transfixed by her. No one had ever hugged him so tightly, even when he needed it. No one had known.

"There's still so much I don't understand about this world. About people. And about you." she said.

One of her arms detached from his side and ran up his torso. Her palm came to rest on the center of his chest.

"But I think I do understand something. There's a pain here in your chest. I felt that same pain whenever I was afraid you'd leave me all alone. Sasuke made a hole there and it's been that way all this time. No one covered it until now so I'll… try my best to cover it."

"This hole… it's…it's loneliness."

Another meaning had returned to her. This one anchored far down into her very being. She could almost see the faint light of a memory trying desperately to emerge from her forgetfulness.

It wouldn't come, at least not yet. She grasped Naruto by his shirt, holding her chest close to his. Just as before, their heartbeats collided and increased rapidly.

"It's just a hole. The rest is filled up by my friends… by you." he said.

She said, "I don't want you to hurt anymore. I promise I'll try my hardest to take the pain away."

"Naruto… I won't leave you alone."

"Why?" he asked, "Why is it you care so much about me; more than anyone else ever has?"

"That's-"

Her emotions began to swim until they were in a warm blissful state. She saw the boy in front of her, so close and so fragile. Right now, he was hers.

"-because I love you."

Naruto's eyes exploded and he let out a gentle gasp. "Wha—"

"You swept me away so fast. I wasn't sure at first, but every moment I've spent with you I've felt it increasing. I was falling for you this entire time."

"Hang on!" said Naruto, "Are you sure? I mean, I only met you yesterday! You can't love me!"

Naruto felt confusion. He remembered his vocalized love for Sakura-chan. He also remembered the confession of Hinata that had taken him by surprise. He still hadn't given her an answer and right now had no distraction to stall him.

"I love you Naruto."

Naruto sat up, causing her to nearly fall off. Instead, she placed her hands on his shoulders and despite the blush that threatened to make her pass out, she continued to gaze at him. All her fears had been washed away. That was the strength her love for Naruto had given her.

Naruto blushed this time. He looked away to collect his composure and his mind.

"You… you really mean it don't you?" he asked. He knew it was time for him to give her an answer.

_What does she mean to you?_

_You just met her. It's just hormone right? That's all._

_Or is it?  
_

_She's reached out to me and she cares about me more than anyone else. She says she even likes how I am!  
_

_Until she gets to know you. The real you!  
_

_The demon fox?  
_

_It'll frighten her away!  
_

_No. She's not like the villagers. S-she's different.  
_

_But even if she loves you… what do you feel about her?  
_

_Me? I…  
_

_I think she's kind, beautiful, and a lot of fun to be around. There's so many places I want to take her and so many kinds of ramen I want her to try. I want her to see me train and be there when I become Hokage. When I bring Sasuke back!  
_

_It's the things I always wanted to do with Sakura-chan when we dated. But… Sakura-chan only loves Sasuke. In the end, I can't have my best friend back and I can't have the woman I love.  
_

_But she… she's here. She loves me.  
_

_Idiot! You can't pick her just because Sakura won't pick you!  
_

_I know! I didn't mean it like that. It's just I'm not sure anymore about a lot of things. Did I really love Sakura? Why… why did I love her?_

_I don't know. Why do you love this girl?  
_

_I told you. Because I think she's kind, beautiful, and I really like her. I've felt closer to her in one day than any of my friends in all this time.  
_

_So then… I do love her…_

Naruto stumbled for answer. The color of his cheeks increased with every failed attempt. Couldn't she just give him more time? Of course! He could ask her. She'd be hurt at first, but she would understand. If anyone was willing to, it was her. Naruto knew right then he could trust her completely with everything he felt or needed.

It hit him. It felt as cold as ice at first and then it turned into a small fire burning in his gut. His gaze weakened and his heart had skipped a beat.

"I love you too." he said.

"Thank you" she said.

She mounted herself even more on top of him and then leaned forward. Naruto submitted to her as her feverish forehead nuzzled against his. He was almost completely back on the ground when her lips crashed against his. The sweet ecstasy of their kiss caused her to moan.

"Naruto…"

Neither of them had noticed the tent zipper had been pulled up. Captain Yamato was standing speechless as he witnessed the two unexpected lovers locked in an embrace. He stealthily zipped the tent back up.

He smiled thoughtfully and decided to spend the night in the ANBU barracks instead.

* * *

**Author's Note: **That was a long inner monologue on Naruto's part I'll admit. I think there were a lot of issues he needed to confront.


	10. Accidental Gaze

**Chapter 10- Accidental Gaze**

Pain's eyes slowly returned to reality. She yawned and wiped her eyes. Now that she saw everything as it was, it seemed Naruto's bunk was empty. A memory of last night resurfaced. It was pure embarrassment to her now. Pain wasn't sure if she could face Naruto right now.

_I can't believe I said all those things to him. And I even kissed him! When did I remember what kissing was? What in the world got into me? It's not like me at all._

She replayed the memory in her head until she was finally able to process it. It started to sink in now and even seemed a little sweet. At last, Pain recalled the strong feelings that had moved her to action.

_But what now? I don't know where our relationship will go from here Naruto. I only know I love you and I want to be with you forever._

She pulled herself up and stretched her back. When she was ready, she headed outside to find what had become of him.

Animal Path could hear the sound of water running now. Pain walked around to the other side of her tent. Her feet splashed in a puddle as she stepped onto a concrete platform. She could see Naruto standing with his back turned while he ran his hair under the faucet of a public shower.

Fully aware of what Naruto was doing, she blushed and stepped backwards. Naruto heard her feet scuff the ground and spun around.

"Oh. Good morning!"

"I didn't mean to walk in. I'm sorry!" she said.

"But…" began Naruto, "it's an outside shower."

"It's the same sort of thing. You're showering and that sort of thing is private."

"I guess, though I am wearing pants." he said pointing to his boxers.

Animal Path followed his fingers down to the red damp shorts he was wearing. Quickly averting her gaze, she pulled her eyes upwards. Now she saw his muscular chest glistening as a stream of water flowed down it. Trying to still break free of this interesting sight, she looked up at his face. He was smiling- the boy with the blue eyes and canine-like whiskers. His blonde bangs were hanging over his face, free from the headband that usually restricted them.

Pain quickly looked away, her blush even worse now. She put together the image in her mind. Naruto looked so… handsome. She wished he'd keep his hair that way in the future. Maybe she should say something? But it seemed perverted to her.

"Sorry." she said at last, "I really didn't mean to stare."

Naruto was speechless. He hadn't considered his showering to be awkward for anyone else. Naruto imagined what he would think if he had walked in on her doing the same. It made sense now.

"It's fine. It makes us even for that time I saw you… you know?" he said, regretting bringing back that memory. Unfortunately, he then found himself remembering it all too pleasantly.

"Besides," Naruto said, "you're my girlfriend now."

_Girlfriend?_

That word washed out any doubt in her mind. It meant last night had really happened. Naruto really did love her. It said he was serious about their new life together.

"Naruto-_kun_" she said.

Naruto turned off the water and stepped forward. His eyes connected with hers. Even though she was caught off guard, she still consented as he placed a kiss on her lips.

He told her, "I saved some hot water for you. No one else is awake right now so you don't have to worry."

Naruto walked on past, forgetting to tell her how to run the shower or how to dress for outdoor bathing.

One thing was on his mind right now and that was, "I kissed her…. again!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry, about how short this chapter is. It really doesn't fit in with the chapter before it or after it. Still, I felt I had to address their reaction to the previous night. Next Friday should prove a very interesting chapter. Please look forward to it.


	11. The Inevitable Reunion

**Chapter 11- The Inevitable Reunion **

_You are Pain._

An unwelcome voice had uttered those words. Such a small phrase left her devoid of any happiness or hope. It sent a chill down her back. The world around her seemed to go grey. Her heartbeat increased now. Any second now it seemed as if she would be transformed into someone else entirely. All the memories would return and once again she would be Pain.

"No!" she shouted into the darkness.

Silence answered her back.

A painful question festered in her mind. Had that voice been the voice of Pain from deep within her subconscious or had it simply been a dream? The fact remained though that she had been asleep. Even if it was Pain, Inoichi had said his hold would weaken over time. But they also said they'd keep her monitored. Pain contemplated whether they were being cautious or there was a risk they hadn't informed her of.

In the end, she couldn't know, even with it being her own mind.

Pain looked up at the entrance to the tent. It was filtering in a ray of sunlight so that it just reached her hands. She allowed her hands to soak in the warmth. It was a simple comfort, but the only one right now. It reminded her that it was only the afternoon. Night was still far off.

This realization sent her to her feet and she unzipped the tent. A powerful blast of air hit her face and sent her bangs in a tempest. She shut her eyes and stepped out.

She held a hand under her forehead until she could finally see. Naruto and Yamato were standing in front of her. Overhead, thick overcast had begun to assemble. The sun that had been shining on her was slipping away.

"Here" said Naruto. In his hands he held a white cloak. Chikushodo noticed that he and Yamato were both dressed in matching attire. Feeling a shiver run across her bare hands, she grabbed it. It took her a second but she slipped it on over until it covered her from neck to toe.

"Any better?" asked Yamato.

"That's much better." she said, "Thank you so much."

Naruto and Yamato both scratched their foreheads sheepishly.

"What happened to the sky?" she asked now.

Naruto answered, "A storm rolled in all of the sudden."

He looked at her and beamed. "Don't worry. It's moving fast so it'll be past us in a couple of hours."

Naruto expected her to seem reassured by his words. Her attention was elsewhere though. The young woman was looking up at the clouds, seeming enamored by them. It didn't seem like curiosity to him though. Pain's expression was one of despair.

She finely turned to him, her eyes still tormented. Chikushodo seemed to be pleading him to take away her pain. But when her face finally turned completely to him, she looked puzzled.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Another harsh wind hit the group. It seemed like an eternity for Naruto before she answered him.

"I don't know." she said.

She wondered to herself, "What is this sadness I'm feeling?"

Pain shuttered as a drop of rain landed on her cheek. It slid down and clung to her chin. A second drop hit her right above the eye. She shut her eye only for it to seep into her eyelashes. The air became colder now.

It was less than a second later when the rain came down in its fullest. She didn't protect her face. She let it soak her thoroughly. Pain didn't care. No one could tell that she was crying.

_Why? Why does it hurt?_

Konoha disappeared. She was standing at the base of the Rain Village. Its rusting towers stood in every direction and contained the many levels of the city. Weather-worn shacks fell at the feet of these colossal structures. Metal pipes were protruding from every corner of the spires. Some were red, others blue. Most however were unpainted, retaining the dull grey of their creation.

Amidst this industrial kingdom, stood the amber- headed girl. She wore on her head the symbol of her allegiance. It was her village and home. The four black slits on her metal protector represented Amegakure and the slash running through it was a sign of defiance to an oppressive government.

It was a miserable village riddled by war. As far as she could remember, it had always been like that. The citizens and shinobi were poor and barely got by.

However, it had slowly been recovering since the last ninja war and since the tyrant named Hanzo had lost his power. While before, people died each and every day from battle, starvation, or disease, they now somehow got by. It was all thanks to their god.

She well recalled stories of darker days told to her by her parents. They told her to be thankful she had so much in this day and age. She understood them. What the kunoichi saw now was a new era beginning.

The sacrifice for peace had been the never ending rain. This wasn't entirely true however. There had been times when it had stopped raining, even if for a moment. Either way, she was told there was downpour even before the death of Hanzo.

"Pain-sama" she said. The ninja was looking up at the greatest tower in the Rain. Grotesque statues protruded where conventional architecture would have placed balconies. It was a place rarely visited. For one thing, its district held nothing but old industrial factories and the city's morgue. The tower itself though was a symbol now. As it was the tallest tower in the city, people believed it was where their savior resided. There was no proof. But today, when she was free of all duties, she wanted to visit it again. She knew better than to expect him. Their god was almost a legend, despite evidence of his existence. No one had ever seen his face in all his reign.

It was all she wanted. She wanted to thank the person who watched over her village. He was a symbol of hope to her. He meant that someone was watching her even when the world seemed so bleak.

She looked up to the tower, ignoring the rain running over her pale face. Her eyes suddenly froze. There on one of the eerie statues was the figure of a man. He stood there but a moment. The glimpse of her protector was enough to make one wonder if they had simply imagined it. She wouldn't accept such doubts. She knew she had seen him and it was something she would cherish. This memory was one she would take with her to the grave.

She said, "Thank you."

A week later the remnant factions of the village had tried to sneak in. Word had reached them from God's Angel to deal with the intruders. Her team had been attacked by at least two squads. That was when one of the corpses had detonated. Poison gas erupted throughout the area. She had pushed away a comrade from the gas only to receive the blow of a hammer to the head.

She could see again now.

Hovering over her was the Deva Path of Pain. A glass ceiling encompassed her. When she was awakened, she crawled out of the pod. She strode calmly until reaching the room where the others were assembled.

_It is time…_

Deva Path, the body most valuable to him, led the others and herself through a veil. She saw him come out into the main room and saw herself following closely.

The deep voice of Deva said, "Konan, get things ready, we're heading out to Konoha."

Konan nodded and disappeared for the time being. Deva path walked ahead of the others onto the inward balcony. He hopped onto a pipe and the others followed. Her path looked behind into the entrance- watching for intruders where Konan was meant to emerge.

Deva Path looked at her for a moment and together they thought, "You will live in the service of your god. Now watch as I stop the rain."

With that, he stretched out both arms and silenced the sky.

BOOM!

Naruto and Yamato looked around. An explosion of dust and rubble had come from where heavy construction had taken place just a moment ago. The rest of the building began to crumble.

"Help! We need help!"

Naruto looked to the girl, petrified and unflinching, before looking back. More cries of help could be heard.

"Come on!" said Yamato. Naruto nodded and said, "We'll be right back. I promise!"

He couldn't reach her right now. A storm of memories was returning to her faster than she had imagined. Each one made sense and helped complete the set.

"They're dead. Both my parents are dead." she said in an almost silent voice. "I was dead. My forehead protector saved me but I inhaled the gas. Pain… he gave me life again."

She could see her battle against Ibiki and when she had fallen in her battle against Jiraiya's apprentice.

_Naruto…_

His name brought her back to the present.

"Come on!"

Her ears picked up this voice, one that sounded out of place from the crowd.

The stranger's voice said, "Before someone sees!"

Two men ran on past her, ramming her shoulder as they did. She didn't sway. Her feet positioned to absorb the blow and as a result, the man responsible received most of the pain.

Not stopping to examine her, he dashed on past.

Pain turned around and shot him a deathly glare. She dashed on behind him, masking her presence carefully.

When the men at last stopped, she ducked low behind a crate, pretending to be catching her breathe. They hadn't stopped to check their cover it seemed. They were obviously looking for someone. At last she appeared...

The woman looked at them and said, "What happened? Is he dead?"

Pain's teeth clenched.


	12. Pain

**Chapter 12- Pain **

Pain bore her teeth as she heard the confession of the three conspirators. The female of the group had asked, "What happened? Is he dead?"

"No!" said one of the males. "The explosives detonated prematurely! It's bad sis! I think some people got hurt!"

"Don't worry. No one knows anything. Anyway, keep your voices down. We need to get out of here."

She turned and walked back the way she had come. Her brothers reluctantly followed. The other man said, "Damn! We tried so hard! That brat! Everyone thinks he's a hero! But he's just the damned fox that wrecked this village the first time around!"

"The Kyuubi" she thought. She was aware of Pain's prey. It was his reason for coming to Konoha after all. The name carried a lot of meaning but not to her. Right now she saw only their blood…

"You'll pay." she said. The three turned around to see a young girl coming down the alleyway.

"Who are you?"

She said, "You tried to take him from me. That boy has already suffered enough. People like you, you cause only pain to others. You live in a cycle of revenge."

"So you know him?" said one of the men.

"Aoshi!" scolded his sister.

"That's right." he continued, "Our older sister died because of the nine-tailed fox! The Third swore everyone to secrecy, but we remembered! That little brat is the monster! I bet that's the only reason he could fight Pain!"

"I am Pain." she said.

"What?" they asked.

The sister squinted as she examined the girl's hair.

"It's orange! Just like the bodies! Wait a minute! Wasn't there a female corpse in Pain's control?"

"That's right! I heard she took out Ibiki and his team. Her monsters wrecked most of the city too!"

"Tch!" said the sister, "What are you still doing alive?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is what happens next… for you. The cycle that you're trapped in, it doesn't end here. I'll avenge Naruto so you can never threaten him again."

She pointed a finger in their direction as they returned it with resentful expressions.

"You bitch!" shouted one of the brothers. He swung his kunai at her, only for her to grab him by the wrist and twist it. He shrieked as his shattered arm released the kunai. She grabbed it and simultaneously kicked him in the gut. The man was sent crashing into the building behind them.

The sister ran to tend to her wounded sibling as her other brother dashed forward to guard them. Pain teleported directly in front of him. He stumbled back, unnerved by her speed, as she adjusted her blade. He swung his own at her and they clashed. Pain's kunai suddenly maneuvered around his entirely. He fell to the ground, his entire body slashed open by simultaneous strokes.

"Katon- Spearhead!"

An elemental beam rocketed forward as soon as the woman had completed her last seal. Pain saw the fire projectile coming and leapt over it. With lightning speed, she created seals and said, "Saiton- Violent Water Wave!"

The woman dashed several feet backwards, easily dodging the technique. Pain suddenly blitzed behind the woman. The woman spun her leg around instinctively. Pain ducked below the sudden kick and pressed her hands to the earth.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A black eel with red eyes appeared in a cloud of smoke. The woman had only a moment to notice it before it disappeared in the shallow body of water beneath her.

"Crap!" she thought, "She wasn't aiming for me earlier. She was making preparations for this!"

The woman tried to leap up only for Pain to grab her by her throat.

"What are you—"

The eel released its electrical surge, shocking the pool of water. Pain disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Before the woman could comprehend she had been facing a shadow clone, her body was fried by the summon.

Pain landed in the water.

"Good work." she said.

The eel replied, "That was clever of you. Mind telling me what battlefield we're fighting in?"

"It'll have to wait until later."

"Fair enough." he said before disappearing in another burst of smoke.

Right then, multiple shinobi appeared all around her. She sensed they were strong and was proven right when she felt a blade by her throat. Judging by their white masks, they were Konoha's black ops.

Her captor noted the lack of surprise she showed from their ambush. The only expression was the minuscule parting of her lips. "Will you come quietly?" he asked politely.

"Yes" she said.

"Good." He addressed another squad mate saying, "Call for medics. These three are mortally wounded."

"What's going here?"

That voice… It was the voice of the one person who she dreaded to see right now. If Naruto saw her like this…

The ANBU saw the kunoichi's calm appearance change to one of shock. She looked to her right as Naruto appeared in the alley with his captain in tow.

"N-Naruto…" she said, now unable to blink. Her face contorted in fear. It was the most the boy had ever seen from her.

He looked at her and the ANBU. His eyes darted over to the collapsed ninja scattered around her. She finally did the same. Animal Path could see the water receding as it left behind three broken bodies.

She let out a gasp of fear. Chikushodo stuttered, "U-U-Uh…"

Pain needed words to come to her now. Naruto was only staring in a state of disbelief. His gaze suddenly became more serious. His eyebrows lowered and his hands tightened into fists.

The girl wanted to run away from his reproachful gaze. She didn't want to be here as he saw the people she had hurt and as he realized she had broken his promise. She had become Pain in the ugliest form. Those thoughts and feelings were gone now, but what remained was an irreparable mistake. Trapped like she was, she could only wait and accept the consequences of her outburst. She wouldn't ask him to forgive her. She'd understand if he chose not to.

Naruto said, "Did they hurt you?"

Pain couldn't believe what he had asked her.

Naruto repeated himself.

Pain at last shook her head, feeling ashamed for answering and desperately trying to hold back tears.

"I need you to tell me what happened." he said.

"Naruto… I"

Pain saw her words reach him only for the boy she loved to walk away from her. Both their promise and his heart were broken. It was all her fault.

She threw aside her fear, deciding she had to tell him regardless of the consequences. He deserved to know.

The rain had stopped now, although the unwelcome clouds still loomed over Konoha.

At last, she said, "I'm so sorry. So sorry."

She was trembling. Tears flooded her vision until she shut her eyes altogether. Her head hung down as she formed words coherent enough to answer him. She then began to explain everything to Naruto.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Despite how dark and depressing it was, this was probably my favorite chapter to write as I was finally able to show her act the part of Animal Path (in her own way).


	13. Don't Run Away

**Chapter 13- Don't Run Away**

"I remembered- my memories, my name, and the day that I died. That's when—"

She paused as she struggled to confess. Naruto waited anxiously. He looked at her more softly than before as he saw her breaking down.

"I found out they had tried to kill you. At that moment, I was so shocked and so angry. That was when I heard him, I heard Pain. I couldn't tell the difference anymore. I just wanted to…"

"No!" she said. "I could never hurt anyone. It wasn't me! It was Pain!"

Was it?

She knew Pain had vanished for now. It was her own scrutiny she was up against right now.

"But I—I was angry at them for trying to hurt you. I followed them. I don't know why. I wanted them to pay… to suffer… No! That's not—but I listened. I couldn't tell… you have to believe me! I wanted to protect you but he had me right then. He… He"

She said, "We were the same. I was Pain. I destroyed them."

She heard Naruto quickly draw in a breathe.

Pain shut her eyes again, overcome completely by a sickening sense of guilt.

_It's over._ Naruto would leave her. These people would die and she would be punished just like she deserved. Time wouldn't go back just for her.

"Out of the way!" said an unfamiliar voice. A dozen medics dressed in white coats dashed passed Naruto and Yamato into the small battlefield. They quickly shot out orders and looked over the wounded.

"Okay! Let's move them!" said the woman leading the group. Stretchers and equipment were rolled onto the scene. The ANBU pinned Pain roughly against the wall causing her to let out a tiny yelp of pain. He restrained her wrists with a metal chord from his tool bag.

"Look over here sir!" said one of the black ops. He pointed to the destruction of the backmost wall. "She's strong enough to break out."

"Then we'll have to incapacitate her."

"No!" said Naruto leaping forward. His eyes were animalistic now, yellow with slit pupils and red eyeliner painted around them. His hand had grabbed onto the ANBU captain's wrist. The other shinobi quickly reacted with katanas pointed at his neck, each one blazing with chakra.

Naruto said, "She's not a threat anymore! Besides, I can't stand the thought of her back in that dark cell."

"Naruto…" said Pain, looking up at him with tearful eyes.

"With all do respect-" said the Captain.

"It's okay."

The ANBU all turned to face the man who had stated this. It was none other than Yamato, who had remained silent up until now.

"Naruto's her guardian. I'll be watching her closely for now as well. If you want custody, take it up with Kakashi-sempai. He'll tell you exactly what I'm saying. She's our duty to take care of."

The ANBU titled his head before letting out a sigh. "Very well then. We'll be watching from the shadows. Is that acceptable?"

Yamato immediately nodded.

The ANBU leader pulled off Pain's bindings. He signaled his men to disperse and they disappeared as quickly as they had arrived.

Naruto slowly stepped forward. He placed his hand out to hold Pain's. She was standing against the wall silently. Just as his fingertips stroked the back of her hand, she turned and ran off. She dashed out of the alleyway, tears trailing behind her. That was when she stopped in her tracks.

"I won't run away. I have to face this." she told herself.

With that, she slowly turned her head around to see Naruto standing in her direction. Time seemed to come to a standstill a second time for her. Their eyes interlocked. Words right now were meaningless.

Naruto looked away as he struggled to say what was on his mind. He wondered, "What can I tell you?"

_I can't decide if I'm upset or sad or just happy you're all right. I don't want to see you crying like this though. It isn't fair that you make one mistake and everything seems to fall apart._

_I have to say something. Even if it's wrong, I want to tell you it's not your fault. It isn't. If I hadn't left you, we'd still be laughing together._

Naruto stepped up beside her with his face opposed to her own. His shoulder bumped against her breast and his chin lay on the ball of her own shoulder. His arms wrapped around her, unable to tell her it would all be okay. It was all he could do for her right now. She knew it and asked for no more. It was enough.

Pain pulled apart suddenly and ran forward to where the doctors were. The medics were all administering medical chakra to their patient's inflictions. She noticed one of them was merely standing back in the role of support.

"Excuse me," she said.

The medic turned to her and she asked, "Will they be all right?"

He said, "They're going to live. We got her heart beating again and the other two we were able to heal properly. It'll take a few weeks for them recover, but that's it."

Animal Path fell to her knees. She looked to the survivors, each one breathing shallowly now. Pain wiped away a tear and said, "Thank you."

Unable to control herself now, she let out all of her tears. Naruto smiled and ran up behind her. Pain was startled as she felt his arms pull her up from behind. Naruto tightened his hold around her yet again. She rested her head in his warm embrace, inhaling his familiar scent. Her breathe sunk deeper than she had expected. It felt as if she had just used her lungs for the first time.

"It's okay now." he said. "Everything's okay now."

She believed him. Everything seemed to have occurred a lifetime ago. Even Pain's grasp seemed to have vanished completely. And if ever he resurfaced, she'd defeat him. She wouldn't let anything separate her again from this happiness she had obtained.

* * *

"Kakashi, I'm so sorry." said Inoichi.

"Don't torture yourself over it." said the masked ninja. "We couldn't have predicted such an extreme scenario. The circumstances were perfect with her memories of Pain returning with her own and then influencing her when she was both vulnerable and in such an emotional state."

He added, "Besides, you confirmed Pain's grasp has been permanently subdued by her subconscious, just as tests have shown before. So in that aspect at least, you were right."

Inoichi couldn't tell if he was trying to defend him or stealthily going at him, perhaps even both.

"It's a shame though, that things turned out in the worst possible way."

"The worst?" asked Kakashi, "Everyone's still alive. I only regret that she had to go through so much in the process."

Inoichi now said, "So how are the other ninja?"

"Recovering. Not that they want to with what's in store for them."

"Humph. I see. Well, I best be leaving."

"Later then."

As Inoichi exited his tent, Kakashi let out a long sigh. He reached down and scooped up his favorite novel. He skimmed through it until finding his most recent page. Kakashi's gaze rested just above his last paragraph. He stopped to say, "Seriously though, thank goodness."


	14. Days Spent in Konoha

**Chapter 14- Days Spent in Konoha**

From the corner of his eye, Yamato saw Naruto and the ginger-haired girl sitting atop one of the construction platforms. It was a common sight to find Naruto hanging out exclusively with her.

Sai walked up from behind and stared at the two friends with a deadpan expression. He then pulled out a book of psychology and turned to a middle passage.

He said, "I can't seem to understand where to place them. They act like best friends, even like brother and sister. Yamato-san, you told me they're a couple though."

Yamato said, "Sai, books can't tell you everything. We can choose our friendships and classify them for the most part. This is true, but when a special bond comes along, there's no accounting for what you may experience."

Naruto said, "So what is it you wanted to say?"

"I wanted to tell you what I remembered about my past. I-If you like."

"Only if you feel comfortable telling me. If it's too painful, then I don't mind waiting."

Pain smiled. Naruto always knew what to say to her. He'd been there since the day she awoke in that cell, alone, afraid, and without a memory to call hers. Since the moment their eyes first connected, Chikushodo had trusted him. It didn't seem naïve to her at all.

"Miyuu" she said. Naruto blinked so she repeated, "My name was Miyuu."

"I was born in the rain village. My parents died before I can remember and my adopting stepmother died of illness. By the time I lost her, I was already a ninja. Our squad was strong but I guess we lost a battle. From what I can gather, after taking a blow for my comrade Hiroki, I was knocked out and that caused my amnesia. The thing is, I wound up inhaling some of the enemies poison. I don't know exactly what happened after that. I only know I was used as Pain's next body."

"So that's it huh?" said Naruto quietly.

"Yeah." she said, "There's one more thing, but it'll sound strange."

"So what? I say strange things all the time. Why can't you?"

"Okay then. It's… I think Pain chose me on purpose. You see, I always visited his tower. One day, I even saw him and I believe he was looking down at me."

Pain now aimed her words at Naruto. "Do you think that he knew how much I adored him? Maybe Pain pitied me and so let me be of use to him. Maybe he even knew I'd be brought back to life here in Konoha…"

Naruto said, "I don't know, but if it is true, that's wonderful."

"Isn't it?" she asked excitedly. "But… it's also kind of sad."

"Why?"

"Because I never got to thank him. And because, now I…"

She looked down and became quiet. It didn't sit well with Naruto. He suddenly reached around her waist and picked her up. She let out a "W-Whoa" as he lifted her up with ease only to put her down sideways on his lap. Chikushodo looked up at him with a childlike curiosity.

Naruto suddenly leaned down and kissed her. She felt his cool lips press gently against hers. Enjoying the sensation, she took it in deeply. The effect was immediate—her insecurity had vanished, only to be replaced with a new sense of it as she felt flustered sitting vulnerably on top of his hips.

"Didn't I say you could tell me anything... Miyuu-chan?" he asked, self reminded he had also just informed Pain the opposite was acceptable as well.

"I know. It's just I don't like saying such sad things. Because I still wish he hadn't used me like he did."

"At least, those memories are gone now."

She nodded and placed her slender fingers between his.

"My own memories feel like a lifetime ago. It's as if I'm both old self and yet I've changed."

Naruto pulled her closer. She nuzzled herself into his warm jacket and his free arm coiled around her back.

Sai watched with interest from below. He pulled out a piece of notebook paper and scribbled on it with a pen. These two were providing him with valuable insight. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it yet though.

"I- I have to tell you something too."

Pain seem surprised, but she listened patiently.

Naruto continued, "We shouldn't have any secrets between us. You told me so it's only fair I tell you something. I was planning to tell you sooner, but there's been a lot of interruptions."

Naruto's gaze weakened, though oddly enough, his teeth were clenched. His hands probably would have been as well, had it not been for the fact this would have crushed the girl in his arms.

_I have to tell you. It's up to you what you do with this._

The fear of rejection played out in his mind. He saw the villagers staring at him with the same expression: repulsion. The beast within himself wasn't him, but they couldn't see it that way.

"When I was an infant, my father the fourth Hokage, sealed inside me a demonic beast that terrorized the village. It was the nine-tail demon fox. Inside me, it can't hurt anyone else. Not unless, I give it too much power. It was that power that battled Pain. Whenever I was weak, I wound up relying on it, whether I wanted to or not. That's why those people wanted me dead. The nine-tails took away their families and wrecked Konoha."

"I know." said Miyuu. "They told me. Sorry, I didn't say enough earlier."

"You knew?" he asked. He suddenly felt stupid for not considering she had understood their reasoning.

"Naruto… you're my best friend and I love you so much. Thank you for telling me."

"You're not afraid?"

She shook her head. "You weren't afraid even when you knew who I was. I'm not afraid now."

Naruto pulled her up, placing her face to his chest and rested his chin on her soft hair. She shut her eyes and he did the same. A sense of relief had poured over them both. It tempted them with a sudden desire to sleep and discard all cares in the world because to them there were no other cares.

"Hey!" shouted Yamato.

They both jumped up. Naruto nearly lost his balance. Pain screamed and clung to him desperately.

Yamato continued, "Get down from there! If you're going to sleep head back to the tent!"

* * *

In the coolness of their tent, Miyuu found herself wake and feeling refreshed. Naruto was still sleeping deeply. Unknown to her, it was the deepest he had slept since before Sasuke had left. Yamato was no where to be found. He and Sai had awoken earlier, one to begin construction on the village and the other to report to his head Danzo that things were going smoothly.

Miyuu rubbed her eyes, for a second expecting to feel the resistance of her black piercings. She looked over to Naruto, feeling guilt swarm her.

_Poor Naruto-kun. Your whiskers are always there to remind you while my past was wiped away._

Miyuu knew her hair was her last trait marking her as a previous host of Pain. Hair could be changed though and like it had been dyed to a brilliant orange, it could be altered again. She considered returning it to her original chestnut. Chikushodo was torn between wanting to erase all traces of the man who had used her and wanting to remember his influence. For now, she decided to keep it simply because she had grown fond of it.

* * *

Naruto slept another twenty minutes. When he awoke, he saw her eyeing a portrait Sai had given her of a well painted bird. He noticed she still looked untidy as you do when you've just awaken. Had she waited all this time for him?

"Good morning." said the boy groggily.

She replied cheerfully, "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah actually. I feel pumped for the day!"

He peered over at her as she returned her eyes to the portrait.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked.

"Yeah it is. Especially since it's not attacking me today."

"Eh?" she asked.

"It's a long story. I'll have to tell you all about Sai sometime."

* * *

Once their bags were rolled up snugly, they each took a turn exchanging the shower while the other used the tent to dress. Once their teeth were brushed and their hair neatened down, they headed out. Before doing so, Naruto grabbed a hold of his black headband which was lying beside a bouquet of paper flowers. He gazed at the symbol of Konoha, the truest sign of his occupation as a ninja. He drew it up to his head and yanked on both tails of the fabric. After carefully knotting it, it remained firmly in place and the orange ninja headed out.

Their morning was an eventful one. Naruto met an old friend from the Land of Wave. He was a boy in his early teens named Inari. He idolized Naruto and along his grandfather, had come to help repair the leaf village. He had even promised to personally rebuild the Ichiraku stand.

Naruto and Miyuu didn't have much time to spend alone that day. Yamato insisted they, being both physically capable, help the others out. Miyuu found the task easier than she had expected. It was nerve wracking at first as she was handed out tasks she had little experience in. Soon enough though, she had the hang of things… mostly.

They finished work at seven, just as the sun had begun to set. They headed to their camp for a meal and then resigned for the day.

Another five days flew by them. Miyuu would remember them all well, those peaceful days she shared with Naruto.

"Phew" said Naruto, wiping the sweat from beneath his forehead protector. "What a work out! I'm starving now."

Miyuu, who was equally coated in sweat, said, "Do you think there is still some ramen left over?"

"Oh yeah! They stocked up on it just for us!"

They headed back to camp in high spirits. As Pain rummaged for chopsticks, Naruto pulled out two cups of ramen and proceeded to boil up a pot of water for them.

"Pork or Beef?"

She replied, "I'll have pork today."

Miyuu settled down on a log and waited with anticipation for her well-earned meal. She had spent most of the day passing steel girder beams to Naruto and the other construction workers. She had also learned to operate a power drill and helped assemble much of the frame. Naruto had actually taken up the plasma torch and was quite good with it.

Miyuu smiled when she thought of Naruto carving the initials "Future Hokage" on it only to be scolded by Yamato. She found it odd though how Naruto had gone back to check it over only to seem disappointed for some reason. It was perplexing, but she had been to busy trying to keep her focus on not losing any screws.

She awoke from her memory as Naruto sat down next to her. He handed her one of the two cups of noodles. Animal Path thanked him and dropped a pair of chopsticks into the slightly ajar lid of his ramen. She breathed in the hearty scent of ramen that lingered with her cup's steam.

"Itadakimasu!" said Naruto. He quickly began to inhale his lunch. Miyuu whispered in the same, "Itadakimasu" and pulled up a noodle with her chopsticks. It tasted as savory as ever.

When their cups were dry, they both reclined comfortably as their bodies digested the broth. Miyuu began to look up at the sky, a sight that had never ceased to fascinate her. Naruto appeared more focused on the girl herself. He eyed her every few seconds and began to groan.

Naruto looked back at her, only to see she was ogling him as well. He almost fell off his log. Miyuu reached out her hand to aid in preserving his balance. Naruto sat upright again as if nothing had happened.

"Are you okay Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, I'm-" He hesitated to answer. There was something he needed to say to her, but saying it now would be pointless.

"_Naruto-kun_?" repeated a feminine voice.

Both teenagers turned their heads in the direction of where a bewildered Sakura was standing. Naruto suddenly felt his heart sink. How was he going to explain this to her? He felt for a moment as if he had betrayed her by falling for the redhead.

The flustered boy said, "S-Sakura-chan… What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking sometime off. I thought I'd see what you were up to."

She looked at their hands and said, "Ramen? Eh? I missed lunch."

"I'll cook you up a cup if you like." said Naruto.

"It's fine. I'll make my own. They're over here right?"

Naruto gave a small grunt of agreement. He looked down as he tried to make sense of his feelings.

"What am I doing?" he wondered.

"Sakura-chan, I need to tell you something."

Sakura sat up from the spot where she had been rummaging for ramen. She looked at Naruto, taken with interest from his unexpectedly grave nature.

The pink-haired kunoichi asked, "What is it?"

"I… We…" he said, grasping Miyuu's hand, "have something to tell you."

"What?!" she said, "Don't tell me she pregnant?!"

Both Naruto and Miyuu turned an immeasurable tone of red. Miyuu merely blanked out while Naruto stuttered for a response.

"T-T-That's not it at all! Um… Let me finish!"

He breathed in and out, relaxing what was left of his composure. "I love her."

Sakura didn't answer. Naruto waited madly for the reply which would tell him whether she was mad, happy, or possibly even sad.

"In love?" she asked. Her own cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Sakura wanted to ask more, but was suppressed by the awkwardness she faced.

"I was going to tell you, but we've all been busy." It felt to him like there was a lot he had meant to tell his friends, but it wound up coming out too late.

"How long?"

"It was the day you met her."

"That soon?" Sakura accidentally spurted out.

"It's not that simple! We both were awake and I…" The young lovers' cheeks continued to stay aflame. They hadn't told a soul about that fateful night.

He finally let out, "I wound up telling her everything about Sasuke. She was there when I needed her. She listened and she confessed to me. I guess it made sense to me, the bond we shared had always been turning into something more. I realized I loved her too."

Sakura smiled brightly at the revelation. She mentally photographed the scene of them sitting on the log, hands locked and the luminescent blushes of lovers present on their cheeks. It brought in a hint of jealousy.

_I wanted that to be me and Sasuke-kun._

Even with such a painful dream caught inside her, she continued to smile. She said, "I wasn't sure what to think at first. After hearing that though, I think it's beautiful what you two have. I'm glad for you Naruto and you too. You two make a cute couple."

She ended by saying, "Congratulations. I'm sure you'll be happy together."

"Thank you." said Naruto. Miyuu nodded cordially as well. Sakura grinned before returning to preparing her meal. She joined them as she ate and gathered as many details as she could on their story and relationship. Naruto eventually loosened up enough and began a more excited explanation. Miyuu could only blush at his praises of her, though she broke her silence at times to share her own admiration of Naruto. Sakura took it all in with gusto. Soon Yamato and Sai joined them in their over extended lunch. Even Kakashi showed up. He had left things temporarily to Shikaku Nara who could collaborate well with Root. On hearing the news, Kakashi seemed rather unsurprised to find out about Naruto and Chikushodo. But he was pleased.

That long afternoon… It would be the last time they would be together like this for some time.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope you've been enjoying this story so far. Unfortunately, we're approaching the finale. Hopefully, you'll find it satisfactory.


	15. The Gates of Konoha (Finale)

**Chapter 15- The Gates of Konoha- Finale**

" Miyuu" said Naruto, "I'm still trying to get used to the name."

She said, "I know you were going to choose me one."

"It's a beautiful name." said Naruto. Both lovers became transfixed in the other's eyes, a sudden impulse to kiss again overtaking them.

"There you are!"

Sakura was the first to react.

"Kiba, what is it?"

The dog riding teenager had skirted up behind her. He seemed quite exasperated, though not at all exhausted.

"I've got news!" he said.

"What happened?" asked Naruto.

Kiba said, "Would you shuddup and let me finish damn it!"

"All right, listen…" said Kiba, "Tsunade's been dismissed as Hokage!"

Sakura and Naruto both voiced their alarm. Kiba immediately continued, "The 6th Hokage is some guy named Danzo. I don't know him, but apparently he's pretty shady.

Sakura snapped back the name in disgust.

Kakashi muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"That's not the only thing! The new Hokage… has given permission to dispose of Sasuke as a missing-nin."

Kiba's words hit Naruto hard. All this time he had been enjoying himself, the situation with Sasuke had been escalating out of control. It left him shocked.

The hands of Miyuu wrapped around his. He looked down at her to find her eyes filled with worry and the desire to comfort him.

Naruto shut his eyes and said, "What do you mean?"

Kiba replied, "I don't know myself!"

Kakashi was the one to answer Naruto's question.

"They're not willing to wait for Tsunade to recover. It's not surprising. And it's true that Sasuke is a missing-nin. The usual punishment for that is death. It's only because Tsunade was so lenient that he hasn't been killed yet."

"I'm going to see Danzo!" said Sakura.

Before she could storm off, Kakashi took hold of her arm. He said, "Wait, Sakura! Storming in there and yelling at him won't solve anything."

"But Tsunade-sama," she said, "hasn't even woken up yet. It's not fair! And then there's Sasuke! I can't stand by and let this happen!"

She began to march off. She suddenly stopped as she heard no footprints behind her.

"Naruto, aren't you coming with me?" she asked.

"Sakura-chan, I hate this just as much, believe me. But… Kakashi's right. We need a plan first."

This wasn't like him. Sakura knew him too well. He ought to be more furious than she was. It would be useless to try to restrain him. But instead Naruto's head was calm? She wondered why. That's when she realized it… the girl clinging to him. Had she numbed Naruto from the determination he had to bring back Sasuke? Or was he considering how she would feel if he ran off and got himself in trouble with the new Hokage. Perhaps having a girlfriend had changed his perspective and matured him. It made her feel like the child right now.

"What a ridiculous thought!" she told herself. "Naruto's outgrown me and Sasuke while I've…"

"I haven't given up on him!" said Naruto, "I'm not going back on my promise Sakura-chan."

"Relax." said Kakashi, "How about you find Sai and see what he can tell us on the situation?"

Naruto and Sakura both nodded.

* * *

Kakashi left to go find Shikaku and try to find a way to best approach the fragile situation. Miyuu, Naruto, and Sakura now strolled through the back of the camps. Luck had not turned up Sai. Their only lead was this was the direction he had left them in.

Suddenly, their lucked changed for the better.

Sakura said, "Sai! We were just looking for you!"

Naruto told Sai, "I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" asked the pale skinned ANBU.

"Tell us more about Danzo" said Sakura.

"I can't."

Naruto and Sakura snapped back at him saying, "Why not? Are you taking his side?"

"No, that's not it. I literally can't talk about him. Because of this…"

Sai opened his mouth revealing a black seal etched onto his tongue. He explained its purpose as a forced barrier restraining him from revealing any info on his master. He told them any valuable facts he could, as little as it was. But Naruto and Sakura were unsatisfied.

As they conversed, Miyuu suddenly twisted her neck to the right. A chill ran up her spine and energy began to flow through her. Her instincts had alerted her to the enemy's presence.

"Naruto-kun!" she said.  
Naruto looked at her as she pointed to the two shinobi walking out of the forest. One was an ebony skinned woman with long red hair and wielding a katana. The other was a man with short white hair. His skin and katana were identical to his female partner's. Stamped to their forehead protectors was the symbol of Kumogakure, The Village Hidden in Clouds.

"Looks like one of you is paying attention." said the woman. She pulled out her katana. Naruto dashed in front of Miyuu while Sakura and Sai assumed battle poses.

"You're gonna tell me everything you know…" said the Cloud kunoichi, "about Uchiha Sasuke. Seems he's a friend of yours."

"Kumogakura ninjas? What are you doing here?" asked Sakura.

The male now said, "You were telling us about Sasuke! Tell us everything!"

"What does he have to do with you?' asked Sakura.

The man glared at her and threw out a finger in her direction. "Everything! Uchiha Sasuke attacked our village."

The crimson haired kunoichi interrupted. "That missin-nin took our master! We don't even know if our master is dead or alive!"

Sakura let out, "N-No way! Why would Sasuke do that?"

The other cloud ninja said, "How should I know what Akatsuki wants?"

"What do you mean Akatsuki?" asked Naruto. Fear began to grip hold of his thoughts.

The woman told him, "Huh? Are you kidding me? Sasuke's a member of Akatsuki!"

"Raikage-sama sent us here," shouted the man, "because you let that missin-nin run free! We have permission from the Hokage to kill him now! We will have our revenge!"

The fear that had seized his mind now changed into anger. It wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. Naruto was furious at this revelation and what it meant. Sasuke had joined that damned organization and now these people intended to murder him. It was the finish to an already sickening realization.

He accepted it... He accepted what Sasuke had done. Now Naruto felt he needed to decide what course of action to take.

The kunoichi said, "Tell us everything you know about Uchiha Sasuke! Including his styles and techniques. We need everything you've learned about Sasuke and his allies."

Sakura said, "You've got to be kidding me! How could Sasuke be a member of Akatsuki?"

"God, you're so annoying!" said the woman, "What's Sasuke to you anyway?"

Sakura felt her eyes begin to well up with tears. Just considering her feelings for him began to tear her apart. He had betrayed her yet again and yet in her memories she still clearly saw the boy who she had fallen in love with.

"I… I…"

Sakura was unable to finish her sentence. She broke down and sobbed. Naruto looked at her. He was suffering too, though to his surprise, he found himself able to sort through his emotions.

"What're you crying for?" said the red head. "I'm the one who wants to cry! Your crying won't bring Killerbee or Yugito back. If you've time to cry then tell me what you know about Uchiha Sasuke."

"Is your master a host?" asked Naruto.

"How did you know?" asked the woman.

"I'm a host too. Akatsuki is going after all of us... This is my fight too. Akatsuki wants the hosts alive. So your master may still be alive yet."

"What?"

"Really?"

Naruto saidd, "You should try to rescue him before going after Sasuke."

"Are you sure?! Are you really sure?!" asked the male ninja.

The other said, "I told you he wouldn't go down so easily!"

"I'll help you guys find him." said Naruto, "I'll tell you everything I know about Akatsuki."

The golden-eyed kunoichi pointed at him and said, "You're smarter than you look blondie! Tell us about Sasuke too."

"Naruto" said Sakura worriedly.

Naruto looked at her for a moment and then over at Miyuu. There was no hiding the distress in her gaze. Naruto knew this must be difficult for her as well. There wasn't a thing she could say in a situation she knew so little about.

He considered now how he could make amends. They wouldn't be satisfied by his lacking explanation. Naruto would never sell out his teammate. On the other hand, Sasuke had taken someone precious from these people. He could sympathize. Naruto remembered all too well how much he had wanted to avenge the pervy sage. What did he want now? Was it to save Sasuke? Could Sasuke still be saved?

Naruto shook away the doubt. He had to do something to stop them. Saving their master wasn't enough for them? But what could he do? And what could he do for Sasuke?

_I can beg…_

_I can beg the Raikage to not go after Sasuke. But what about these guys? They won't listen to me. They've been consumed with hatred. I have to put an end to this. All of this._

For a moment, he considered a possible answer. It didn't seem fair to withhold information on Sasuke, no more than it did to sell him out. What then? Why not let them take out their anger on him? Naruto was willing to accept whatever punishment they chose for him.

_Anything… to put an end to this chain of hatred._

He saw his blood. The thought of his blood smeared across the ground. He couldn't tell whether they had moved on or not. But someone was beside him. She was crying over his beaten body.

_I can't. I can't do that to her._

"Sorry." said Naruto, "I won't betray Sasuke. He's not my friend anymore but… I haven't given up on him."

_I haven't, have I?_

"What!" said the Cloud kunoichi, "You bastard! You're just going to let us fight him unprepared."

"You don't have to fight him at all. Don't you get it? Is it your master you want or Sasuke's head? Which means more to you?"

Both the cloud ninja were stunned for a moment. Finally, the girl walked forward to Naruto. A vein began to bulge in her fist. Her nails were digging into her palm enough that blood had begun to trickle down.

Miyuu let out gasp. She suddenly jumped in front of Naruto with her hands stretched out.

"What are you doing?" asked the woman.

"Please! Naruto-kun hasn't done anything to you!"

"Nothing? He's chosen to take sides with that murderer Uchiha!"

"Sasuke's his friend! Something like that can't be easily thrown aside. Please… try to understand. If you won't, then… you can take out your hatred on me."

"No!" said Naruto.

"Get out of my way!" said the woman. She took another step forward. Suddenly, her comrades hand latched onto hers, restraining her.

"Omoi, let go of me!" said the woman.

"Let's stop Karui. We're not getting anywhere with these guys. Besides, Samui has probably gathered enough with the mission reports."

"Tch" she muttered. She spun around and took off back into the thick forest. Her partner gave a sigh and stepped between an opening in the trees.

As he left, he said, "I respect you for sticking up for your comrades. I'd do the same for Killerbee. I like you kid. Another thing…"

Omoi added, "Your girlfriend, I like her too. You've got backbone, the both of you. Sorry we had to meet this way."

His voice trailed off as he vanished into the thick foliage.

"Damn it" thought Naruto. He wouldn't yell it out to her face, but inside he was furious.

_Why'd you stand up for me? I would have died if I'd seen you take those blows for me. I… probably would have attacked them._

"Please…" said Naruto at last, "don't ever do that again. You don't need to carry my burdens."

Myu said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't let them hurt you."

Sai spoke up now. "Naruto, you say she shouldn't shelter your burdens. But you shouldn't shelter Sasuke's either."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Sasuke's chosen his path. As much as you want to save him, do you really think you can or you should?"

Naruto wanted to snap back at him and say that he couldn't let Sasuke go so easily. He wanted to say Sasuke was still redeemable. But he didn't believe his own words… not fully. Naruto wasn't about to throw his life away to save his old bond. Miyuu needed him and he needed her.

Naruto felt his chest tighten as he was hit by a sense of responsibility. Sasuke was his problem… He didn't know if he could save him and wouldn't kill himself trying. But Sasuke was caught in a chain of hatred? If he died, what would Sakura do? If Sakura died would he do? It was all because of his failure to beat him at the Valley of the End. As much as Sai's words rang true, Naruto saw Sasuke's sins as his to deal with.

"I have to end this." said Naruto. Sakura and Miyuu both looked at him with curiosity.

"I don't know if Sasuke's truly lost. I don't know if he's coming back. But I have to know. I have to find him. I'll find the Raikage and ask him to delay the hunt for Sasuke. I've got to see Sasuke face to face. I have to know why he's doing this. When he answers, I'll know… if he can still be redeemed. I still want to bring him back to Konoha but if I can't… I'll deal with him myself."

"Naruto…" said Miyuu.

"I won't die. I promise." He said. "But I can't just run away. I won't turn my back on him either. Not unless he leaves me no choice. But right now I have a choice. I have a chance to put an end to this. I won't run away. After all, I swore I'd be Hokage one day."

Sai said, "If you insist, we'll talk to Kakashi about it."

Naruto nodded and looked back to Miyuu.

_It's thanks to you that I'll be able to accept Sasuke for what he is. I have someone to live for. That's why I won't be reckless. I won't ever lose._

Naruto pulled Miyuu into his chest. She let out a shudder as she tried to repress her tears.

"I won't die." said Naruto. He loosened his embrace and placed his hands squarely on her shoulders. He said, "I need you to understand. I'd give anything not to have to risk my life right now. I'd do that for you but, this thing is bigger than both of us. I have to confront Sasuke."

Miyuu suddenly looked at him with a sense of resolution. She leaned her head forward so that it rested on the nape of his neck.

Miyuu whispered, "I know. And I know you'll come back to me. I believe in you."

Hearing those words from her lifted the burden that had been trying so desperately to crush him. Her courage inspired him to increase his own.

_Sasuke, I don't know what's happening, but I'll find out. Until then,_ wait for me.

Naruto said to Miyuu, "Wait a moment. What's this about me coming back for you? You're coming with me!"

"What?" she asked.

"I can't be watching you if you're still in Konoha. Besides, you're a trained shinobi right? You'll make the trek no problem Miyuu-chan!"

"I can come?"

Naruto didn't miss the excitement in her voice. "As if I could leave you alone." he said, "I want you to come with me. It won't be easy, but I don't want us to be separated. Whatever happens, I want to face it with you."

It felt selfish and at the same time, it felt wrong to leave her behind. Naruto's destiny was ahead of him and she was apart of that future.

"I won't be a problem, I promise." she said. She smiled confidently at him as she said, "I'll protect you. After all, I am... a shinobi."

Naruto grinned and said, "I'm glad you're coming. I'm no good with love letters."

"You'd have no time to put thought into them."

"No hard feelings if the first sucks?"

"I'd store it away after so we could read it again together."

"Luckily, I'll be able to say it to you in person then." he said, "This will be fun to explain to Kakashi. I think he'd want it though."

Miyuu made a mental note to thank Kakashi for all of his support. She wondered if Naruto had learned his kindness from him.

Three hours later, they had gathered at the gate and were ready to move out. Each shinobi was dressed in a thick white cloak. Kakashi had made it clear that the Kage Summit would be in a snow-covered landscape. Miyuu was rather excited to see snow for the first time. The way Naruto described it only made her even more spirited.

Miyuu ran her fingers over the zipper of her dark brown long coat. She had picked it earlier in haste but found it practical if not aesthetically cool. On her head was a freshly chosen purple forehead protector. Even if she wasn't a Konoha shinobi, it didn't matter at all to Naruto. He had been overjoyed when he saw her wearing it.

Miyuu now looked to her left. Yamato and Sai stood there facing the road that led to any part of the continent. To her right was Kakashi, a lazy gaze both distant and calculating.

And when she looked on ahead, she saw him. The man who reached out and inspired others. Right now, he was fixed on the gateway, his arms crossed, and she guessed, an eager smile on his face.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "All right, let's head out!"

"Right!" said the party harmoniously.

Naruto turned his head around and looked directly at Miyuu. His deep blue eyes peered into hers. In them, she could clearly see a reflection of herself, a young rain ninja who had been given a new life and a chance to spend it with this boy.

Naruto said, "Stay close to me. I'll be counting on you to help me see this through."

She said, "I will."

The sun's orange glow began to fade on the walls of Konohagakure. The five figures which had stood at its gates now began their flight boldly into the darkness. THE END.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope you've all enjoyed reading Remnant of Pain. It was certainly fun writing it. I'm touched and overwhelmed by how many people have followed and favorited my story. Thank you all for your support. It means a lot.


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